CIHM 
Microfiche 
Series 
(l\/lonographs) 


ICIVIH 

Collection  de 
microfiches 
(monographles) 


Canadian  Instituta  for  Historical  Microraproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductiont  historiquas 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  techn:que  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best  original 
copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this  copy  which 
may  be  bibliographically  unique,  which  may  alter  any  of 
the  images  in  the  reproduction,  or  which  may 
significantly  change  the  usual  method  of  filming  are 
checked  below. 


n 

D 

D 
D 
D 

D 

D 

D 

D 

D 


Coloured  covers  / 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged  / 
Couverture  endommagee 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
Couverture  restaur^  et/ou  peiliculee 

Cover  title  missing  /  Le  litre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps  /  Cartes  geographiques  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)  / 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

Coloured  plates  and/or  Illustrations  / 
Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material  / 
Relie  avec  d'autres  documents 

Only  edition  available  / 
Seule  edition  disponible 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin  /  La  reliure  serrde  peut 
causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la  distorsion  le  long  de 
la  marge  int^rieure. 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoratk}ns  may  appear 
within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these  have 
been  omitted  from  filming  /  II  se  peut  que  certaines 
pages  blanches  ajout^es  lors  cfune  restauration 
apparaissent  dans  le  texte,  mais,  k>rsque  cela  ^tait 
possible,  ces  pages  n'ont  pas  &i§  fHm^. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  examplaire  qu'il  lui  a 
ete  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details  de  cet  exem- 
plaire  qui  sont  peut-dtre  uniques  du  point  de  vue  bibli- 
ographique,  qui  peuvent  nK>difier  une  image  reproduite, 
ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une  modifications  dans  la  m^th- 
ode  normale  de  filmage  sont  indiqu^s  ci-dessous. 


\3 

D 
D 
D 


D 


Coloured  pages  /  Pages  de  couleur 


D 

r~lf     Pages  damaged  /  Pages  endommag^es 

I     I      Pages  restored  and/or  laminated  / 
' — '      Pages  restaurtos  et/ou  pellk:ul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed  / 
Pages  d^color^s,  tachet^es  ou  piquees 

Pages  detached  /  Pages  ddtachees 

Showthrough  /  Transparence 

Quality  of  print  varies  / 
Qualit^  inegale  de  I'impresston 

Includes  supplementary  material  / 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppldmentaire 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image  /  Les  pages 
totalement  ou  partiellement  ot>scurcies  par  un 
feuillet  d'enata,  une  pelure,  etc.,  ont  6t6  film^es 
k  nouveau  de  fafon  k  obtenir  la  meilleure 
image  possible. 

Opposing  pages  with  varying  colouration  or 
discolourations  are  filmed  twice  to  ensure  the 
best  possible  image  /  Les  pages  s'opposant 
ayant  des  colorations  variables  ou  des  decol- 
orations sont  filmees  deux  fois  afin  d'obtenir  la 
meilleur  image  possible. 


D 


Addnk>nal  comments  / 
Commentaires  suppldmefttaires: 


This  item  h  filmed  at  the  rtduction  ratio  chackad  btlow/ 

Cc  doctmiant  est  fitmi  au  taux  de  rMuction  indique  ci-dessous. 


lOX 

14X 

iax 

22X 

26  X 

30X 

vj 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Th«  copy  filmed  hart  has  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Stauffer  Library 
Quean's  Unl varsity 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  iagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacif ications. 


Original  capias  in  printad  papar  covara  ara  filmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  iliustratad  improa- 
sion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriate.  All 
othar  original  copies  ara  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  anding  on  the  last  page  with  a  printad 
or  illuatratad  impreasion. 


Tha  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ^^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  ▼  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  ara  filmad 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hend  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  film*  fut  reproduit  grice  *  la 
gAnirosit*  de: 

Stauffer  Library 
Queen's  University 

Les  imagas  suivantas  ont  M  raproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  ta  condition  at 
da  la  nettet*  de  l'exemplaira  film*,  at  en 
conformity  avac  lea  conditions  du  contrat  de 
fiimaga. 

Lee  exemptsirea  originaux  dont  la  couvartu.a  an 
papier  est  imprimie  sont  fiimis  en  commandant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniire  paga  qui  comporta  une  amprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axemplairas 
originaux  sont  film*s  •n  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  eomporte  une  empreinta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration  at  en  terminant  par 
la  darniire  paga  qui  comporta  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  dos  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  la  symbols  ^^  signifie  "A  SUiVRE".  le 
symbote  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  plenches,  tableaux,  etc..  pauvent  *tra 
filmte  A  das  taux  de  reduction  diff«rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  *tra 
reproduit  en  un  seul  ciich*.  it  est  film*  *  partir 
de  Tangle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droite. 
et  de  haut  an  bas.  an  prenant  la  nombra 
d'images  n*cessaire.  Les  diagrammas  suivants 
illustrant  la  m*thoda. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MiatOCOfY   RESCHUTKm   TIST  CHART 

(ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


1.0 


I.I 


i: 

Its     I 
l»     { 

u 

■tuu 


1^    1^ 

11°    12.0 


1.8 


^  ^IPPLIED   IIVU.,    -      Inc 

^r  1653  Eost  Main  Street 

riS  Rochester.  Ne«  York        14609       USA 

^S  (716)   «2  -  0300  -  Phone 

aa;  (716)  288  -  5989  -  Fax 


THE   SHORT   COURSE   SERIES 


THE   SONG   AND  THE   SOIL 


GENERAL  PREFACE 


The  title  of  the  present  series  is  a  sufficient 
indication  of  its  purpose.     Few  preachers, 
or  congregations,  will  face  the  long  courses 
of  expository  lectures    which   characterised 
the  preaching  of  the  past,  but  there  is  a 
growing  conviction   on    the   part  of  some 
that  an  occasional   short  course,  of  six  or 
eight    connected    studies    on    one    definite 
theme,  is  a  necessity  of  their  mental  and 
ministerial  ?:fe.     It  is  at  this  point  the  pro- 
jected   series  would    strike  in.      It  would 
suggest  to  those  who  are  mapping  out  a 
scheme  of  work  for  the  future  a  variety  of 
subjects  which  might  possibly  be  utilised  in 
this  way. 

The  appeal,  however,  wiU  not  be  restricted 
to  ministers  or  preachers.  The  various 
volumes  wiU  meet  the  needs  of  laymen  and 
Sunday  School  teachers  who  are  interested 

•  * 

u 


1 


General  Prefece 

in  a  scholarly  but  also  practical  exposition 
of  Bible  history  and  doctrine.  In  the  hands 
of  office-bearers  and  mission-workers  the 
"Short  Course  Series"  may  easily  become 
one  of  the  most  convenient  and  valuable 
of  Bible  helps. 

It  need  scarcely  be  added  that  while  an 
effort  has  been  made  to  secure,  as  far  as 
possible,  a  general  uniformity  in  the  scope 
and  character  of  the  series,  the  final  re- 
sponsibility for  the  special  interpretations 
and  opmions  introduced  into  the  separate 
volumes,  rests  entirely  with  the  individual 
contributors. 

A  detailed  list  of  the  authors  and  their 
subjects  will  be  found  at  the  close  of  each 
volume. 


m 


Volumes  oiraady  PubHsh^H 

By  Prof.  John  E.  McFaoyen,  D.D. 
The  Beatituder. 

By  Rev.  Robert  H.  Fishm,  D.D. 
The  Lenten  Paalou. 

By  the  EoiToa. 

The  Psalm  pt  Pui  ^ 

By  PSf.  jAiOEs  Stauceb,  D.D. 
The  Song  and  the  Soil. 

By  Prof.  W.  G.  JotDAN,  D.D. 
The  ^er  Powers  of  the  Soul. 

By  Rev.  Geokge  M'Ha«dy,  D.D. 

Pkice  6o  cents  net  per  Volume 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


TTbe  SDort  Conree  Scrteg 

■DITID  BY 

R«v.  JOHN  ADAMS,  B.D. 

THE 

SONG  AlSiD  THE  SOIL 

Or,  the   missionary   IDEA 
IN   THE   OLD    TESTAMENT 


■r 

W.   G.  JORDAN,   B.A..   D.D. 

nt  nt...w>.  TBSTAMBHT  CRITLIliM  AND  CXSCUM 

«  QCKN.  THEo«x;,CM.  coitror.  k.mcton.  caka^ 

„  AUTHOII  or 

^■WLICAL  C«ITICI8M   AND   ilODBBN    THOUGHT  " 
raorHBTIC    lOKAS    AND    IOSAU»    «TC.    KTU 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1913 


t/ 


"^Sli  //.32^ 


V 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS 


I.  The    Soiio    and    thi     Soil   (Pulm 
cxxxviL)       .  .  , 

II.  T««    Attractivx    Power    or    True 

*''-»-4)        •  .  .  . 

III.  The  Missiohary  Servawt  (luUh  xlil 

IV.  The   Uhiversal   House  or  Prayer 

(IsaiRh  lYi.  6,  7)       . 

V.  The  City  or  the  EverOpeh  Door 
(f^aiahlx.  II,  la)     . 

VL  The    Kingdom    that    Survives   the 
Shakiho  or  the  World  (Haggai 
ii.  6-«;  Hebrews  xiL  86,  »^) 
VII.  The  City  Without  a  Wall  (Zechariah 

"  •  •  .104 

VIIL  The  Final  Festival  (I«uah  xxv.  6-8)  .    ,,9 


18 

89 


▼a 


b 


By  the  missionary  thought  in  the  Old  Testament  is  to 
be  understood  the  faith  that  in  the  future  the  whole 
ean.1  will  come  to  the  knowledge  of  Jehovah's  gloiy 
and  all  peoples  pray  unto  Him.    The  missionary  thought 
lies  altogether  at  the  circumference  not  in  the  centre  of 
the  Old  Testament.     It  has  definite  prophetic  thoughts 
as  Its  presupposition  and  reaches  its  highest  point  at  a 
time  when  the  prophetic  movement  lies  already  in  the 
past;    but  the  opposition   in  which   it  stands  to   the 
particularism  of  the   Law  and  the  Jewish  abhorrence 
of  all  things  heathenish  never  allowed  it  to  reach  a 
practical  significance."  Professor  Max  L6hr. 


VIU 


1 


I. 


THE  SONG  AND  THE  SOIL. 

PSAIM  CXXXVII. 

This  cry  "How  can  we  sing  the  Lord's 
song  in  a  strange  land  ? "  came  from  the 
deep  places  of  the  human  soul;  it  was 
wrung  out  of  the  hearts  of  men  who  were 
in  great  pain ;  it  comes  as  an  apology  for 
solemn  silence  and  tells  the  story  of  a  lost 
song.  In  an  exposition  our  first  duty  is  to 
revert  to  the  original  and  restore  to  the  text 
the  personal  name  of  Israel's  God.     «  How 

land?  Why  is  this  necessary?  Becaufe 
on  account  of  the  present  translation,  the 
question  loses  its  keen  edge ;  the  historical 
reference  so  necessary  to  a  true  understand- 
ing  of  this  particular  passage  is  largely 
hidden.     To  us,  "Lord  "means  the  eternal 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

and  ever  present  God,  the  ruler  of  the 
universe  in  the  fullest  sense.  The  song  of 
this  God  can  be  sung  in  any  land  and  at  all 
times ;  it  is  now  a  question  of  religion  in 
the  personal  sense  and  not  of  geography,  a 
matter  of  the  spirit  and  not  of  the  soil. 

"Where'er  they  seek  Thee  Thou  art  found 
And  every  place  is  haJIowed  ground."  i 

These  beautiful  words  are  commonplace  to 
us,  that  is  they  express  a  theory  of  God  and 
worship  that  we  have  come  to  regard  as 
self^vident.     But  that  only  shows  that  one 
of  our  religious  needs  is  a  quickening  of  the 
historical  imagination,  so  that  we  may  realise 
how  much  toil  of  brain  and  pain  of  heart  the 
saints  in  the  past  have  had  to  endure  that  this 
great  inheritance  might  be  ours.     This  is  a 
much  larger  question  than  it  seems  to  be  when 
we  are  looking  merely  on  the  surface ;  it  is 
not  simply  that  a  few  obscure  people  by  the 
rivers  of  Babylon  find  that  tearful  silence 
not  joyful   song,   suits    the  mood  of  thaJ 
particular  hour.       When   we   translate  the 

*  Cowper. 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

paAetic   cry   into   the  larger  language  for 
wh.ch  .t  craves  it  means :  Can  our  rfugion 

take  root  .n  this  foreign  soil ;  can  „e  .fuly 
worship   the  God  of  Israel   in   this  Strang^ 
land  that  ,s   under    the   sway  of  arrogant 
magnificent  idols?     Thus  stated,  the  qfes- 
tion  .s  seen  to  be  of  more  than  personal  or 
parochial  s.gmficance.     Already  there  comes 
o  us  a  suggestion  that  ^e  have  a  concern  in 
It ,    that  these    men   are  wrestling  with  a 
problem  that  relates  to  the  life  of  humanity. 

I.  Thb  Cohmonpuces  of  Lifk. 

thfp'u"" '""'  ^  ""''  *'  ""-"k  that 

tlf%'''r  *'  "''°'''  "  ""nmonplace 
book  •  We.  because  of  our  intense  rever- 
ence for  th.s  noble  collection  of  sacred  «,«« 
are  apt  to  resent  the  statement  as  manifesting 
acold.  cynical  spirit  of  criticism.  But  riahtlv 
taken,  taken  no  doubt  in  the  spirit  L  which 
:- meant,  there  is  a  fine  s^ggesti:'^ 
n  It  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  greatness  of 
the  Psalter  consists  rather  in  fts  spiritual 

*Duhni. 

3 


1 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

quality  than   in  it,  literary  character.      It 
contains,  even  from  this  point  of  view,  great 
poems :  the  twenty-third,  forty-second  L- 
first.  seventy-third,  and  many  more  witl^  their 
pla.nt.ve  confession  of  sin  and  piercing  cries 
for  help.     Some  of  the  Pilgrim^salms  are 
real  gems^  remarkable  for  their  many-sided 
beauty,  a  beauty  that  shines  the  more  clearly 

space.     The  less  passionate  hymns  and  the 
caln,  revews  of  history  have  a  fine,  liturgi^ 
quality    AU  this.is  true,  but  it  is  als^  true  A^ 
■f  m  the  Old  Testament  we  would  seelc  X 
r»nd  style,  glorious  rhetoric,  gorgeous  im- 
'g^,  organ-like  music,  passionate  poetry  we 
must  turn  to  Job  and  Isaiah  rather  than  I'Z 
Psalter.   But  the  common  is  not  necessarily  the 
commonplace  in  a  poor  sense.     Many  of  the 
^ms  deal  .n  simple  language,  in  plain,  poetic 
^raUeLsm,  w.th  the  daily  joys  and  s^r'rows 

"n.'~Xtth^r;?e:^cs:! 

4 


I 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

rm'°lr'"''7  ''°'"  *'  erca.  dramatic 
poem  that  wrestles  so  fiercely  with  the 
problem  of  suffering,  the  writings  of  evan! 
gel.sts  and  apostles  are  saturated  with  h, 
thoughts  and  language  of  this  great   bJolc 

mfluenced  the  public  worship  and  priva  e 
devotion  of  Judaism  ,„A  ru  •  /  j  ?""« 
„„,  J  J  juaaism  and  Christendom  does 
not  depend  for  its  reputation  or  its  power 
upon  our  literary  appreciation  ;  f^s 
criticism    cannot    harm    it    but     nay    heTp 

us  to  come  nearer  to  its  heart;  of  it  t 
a  whole    we  may  say  that  it  lifts  our  L 

mon   aff^tions  and    needs    into    the   ^t 
of  that  divine  presence  from   which   thfre 
streams    the    healins    rav«  «f 
forgiveness.  *       ^     °^    '""'^5'    ""d 

Another  careful   scholar-    has    said  that 
w  ftatnT'  f  '"""'  ""-  ««=  ^- P 

n^r4'::drd'™we*^r.'r'r^ 

-eans.  We  have  reaT  h^pstrin  /' ''" 
of  sympathy,  we  have  been  d  epTy  Ivel'bv 
.ts  pathetic  cry.  and  then,  as  welcome  to  t^^ 

*  Bzthgen. 
5 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

'  Ha^;'\''nf  ^i'^'°°'  that  «t  to  be  de«roycd, 
Happy  .hall  he  be.  that  rewardeth  thee 

Af  thou  hast  aerved  us. 
Happy  .hall  he  be,  that  taketh  and  daaheth  thy  Kttle 
onea  against  the  rock."  ^ 

It  is  not  that  we  do  not  ourselves  cry  to 
Heaven  agamst  cruel  oppression  ;  it  is  not 
that  we  do  not  feel  bitter  resentment  against 
wrong;    It  ,s   not  that  we  ourselves  have 
grown   quite  out  of  sympathy  with  natural 
revenge.     That  which  causes   the  shock  is 
that  we  .ealise  so  keenly,   especially  when 
the  words  are  read  in  the  calmness  of  the 
sanctuaiy      the     sharp    contrast    with    the 

nfZ'^'V.t"^'     ^'  '^^"^  ^'  '^'  ^^"^«  time 
of  Him  Who,  on  the  cross,  prayed  for  His 

enemies,  and  we  acknowledge  that  vengeance 
belongeth  unto  the  Lord. 

In  music  and  ir  life  the  discord  has  its 
uses,  and  here  it  reminds  us  that  the  poem 
IS  not  a  mere  literary  creation,  that  it  is  the 
expression  of  real  passion,  suffused  with 
agonised    feeling,    stained   with    blood   and 

6 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

tears.     War  must  always  be  a  cruel  thine  • 
rf  ever  a  necessity,  then  a  hateful  nercssi^.' 
The  feture  of  it  suggested  here,  that  the 
l.v«  of  the  weak  .„d  innocent  were  with 
ruthless   cruelty  sacrificed    in    cold    blood 
belongs  to  the  conduct  of  war  in  ancient 
.me,  as  well  as  in  days  not  so  very  J^Zl 
from  our  own.     The  Hebrew  patriot  invoked 
against  h.s  powerful  foe  "  the  law  of  like  "  • 
he  prayed  that  the  horror,  that  had  come 
upon  h.s  country  and  hi,  friend,  might,  in 
God  s  providence,  fall  upon  the  proud  ene^y. 
Now  It  ,,  our  duty  ,s  Christian  disciples  to 
purge   our  he  rts  from   hatred.  «,d  leave 
vengeance  to  public  justice  and  to  the  God 
of  heaven      But  we  are  not  called  to  judge 
severe^  those  who  stand  at  an  earlier  stafe 
Md  who  express  the  elemental  passion,  in  a 
less  d.,c.plmed  form.     The  varied  moods  of 
men  represented  in  our  Bible  are  interesting 
and  mstrucftve  to  us.  but  they  do  not  express 
an  absolute  infeUible  standard;  it  is  E 
we  see   the  great  differences  in   tone  and 
emper  at  different  periods  of  the  history 
that  we  understand  the  phrase  "progressive 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

revelation"  not  as  a  mere  dogma,  but  as  a 
^t  of  life. 


2.  Thb  Exxli. 

The  exile,  so  fateful  in  the  history  of  the 
Hebrew  people  and  their  religion,  and 
through  it  in  the  life  of  humanity,  was,  in 
a  sense,  only  one  of  the  cruel  incidents  of 
ancient  warfare.  The  Israelites  of  the 
Northern  kingdom  had,  in  the  eighth  cen- 
tury B.C.,  suffered  a  simil?.r  experience. 
After  the  fall  of  Samaria,  many  of  them  had 
been  deported  and  settled  in  various  regions 
of  the  Assyrian  empire  ;  they  were  "  lost " 
in  that  they  were  scattered  and  had  not 
attained  to  sufficient  distinctness  of  religious 
character  to  maintain  their  separate  life. 
The  Jews  who  were  carried  away  to  Babylon 
before  and  at  the  time  of  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  were  able  to  form  colonies  in  the 
new  land,  and  had,  through  the  teaching  of 
the  prophets  and  the  discipline  of  the  Law, 
already  achieved  a  more  definite  character. 
The  temple  was  destroyed,  the  land  was  laid 

8 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

desolate,   but    the    r-r  • 

'''"«'.  The  broke -t*'"".  ""'"^  "«  •>« 
*«  question  that  i,  '^tT*^  '^'"°''  '"'"d 
^  religion  livri^r':  '"  ""  '^«'  "C»" 
from  the  land  that  Jj  "7  ~"*"<"".  »Part 
"irtout  the  temple  tL     ""^'""^  '"°'"*  ""d 

««-  Of  it,  :£ipr.."'y' --  -d 

""ght  seem,  to  the  su„„<:  •  !  ""   '""«  « 
concern  merely  the  fat^lf '^  '">^"".  to 

»~»:  seen  inV  larger  lht'7'!:.°'-^'"^' 
»  «  problem  of  th.     -j    *  '  "^  '""tory  it 

J'-ese'peopTe,-    iS"/""'""  ''"--• 
^"ven  across  the  d^'lf™^ '  "'^  f-een 

'»'"'•  »  hid,  in  most  respe!  "  '^"'S" 

'h^racter  to  their  c  J  '^p' '  °PP°''f«  i" 
s«aU  land,  a  land  of  Ml  .'"'  "«  » 
that  with'its"i;l''f'">d  dales,  a  land 
associations  took  TL      ""^'"^    '"'toric 

!>««•     Babylon  was  aX'lL?'=  ""'"^'^ 
in  Its  own  wav    c,    •  ^  '*"^'  wonderful 

"-hmore7;rar:j"V'''^"^''''''"' 
.'"ificial  irrigation  ZZt'^u'  ^'"''  "' 
;"gs      There  was  somelt  "'  ■'"''''- 

"1  the  vastness  of  thi, T    ^^  ""erpowering 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

equipment.  Here  was  religion  bewildering 
in  its  variety  and  magnificence,  with  many 
gods,  immense  temples,  highly  -  trained 
priests  and  scribes  ;  in  fact,  the  Jews,  bereft 
of  their  own  national  sanctuary,  were  sud- 
denly flung  face  to  face  with  a  mighty 
empire  and  a  great  religion,  both  renting  on 
centuries  of  ancient  civilisation  and  culture. 

Little  wonder  that  the  question  was  both 
persistent  and  oppressive,  "How  can  we 
sing  Jehovah's  song  in  a  foreign  land ;  in  a 
land  that  belongs  to  other  gods  and  where 
our  religion,  so  beautiful  in  its  own  home, 
seems  to  be  an  alien,  helpless  thing  ?  "  The 
magnificent  declaration  of  "  Deutero-Isaiah," 
that  these  great  empires  crumble  to  pieces 
while  the  ^?ord  of  Israel's  God  abides  for  ever 
was  the  utterance  of  a  triumphant  faith.*  Our 
psalm,  on  the  other  hand,  brings  to  us  the 
restless  fear  and  tormenting  anxiety  of  the 
doubt  and  despondency  that  consumed  the 
strength  of  the  common  man. 
•  And  yet  enlargement  came  through  afflic- 
tion.    Out  of  this  crisis  arose  a  new  church, 

»  I»a.  xl.  8. 

lO 


1. 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

not  absolutely  new,  for  no  great  thing  is  a 
mere    novelty.      The    living    truth   or   the 
institution   that   meets  nc      needs  is  always 
true  to  the  great  past.     The  exile  does  n.ark 
a  new  epoch  but  it  is  not  an  absolute  ber  in- 
ning     It  threw  the  true  believers  more  com- 
pletely on  those  things  of  the  past  that  could 
be  preserved  and  revivified  ;  they  learned  to 
understand  their  own  literature  and  life. 
'  The  Jew  became   a  student ;   in  a  more 
special  way  the  book  and  the  regular  meeting 
for  fellowship  took  the  place  of  the  elaborate 
ritual  and  the  sanctity  of  the  temple.     Thus 
he  prepared    the  way  for  a  simple  worship 
that  could    be   earned   into   all  lands.     He 
became  also  a  missionary  because,  wherever 
he  went,  he  must  carry  his  religion  with  him, 
and  as  it  was,  in  so  many  respects,  a  noble 
religion,  it  made  its  appeal  to  receptive  souls 
In   many  ways  then,  here  was   a  severance 
from  merely  local  elements  and  an  emergence 
of  universal  features.    Jerusalem  must  remain 
the  centre  of  the  religion  and  the  ideal  city 
of  God  ;  the  songs  must  still  be  "songs  of 
-^lon,    but  they  gained  a  more  than  national 

II 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

quality;  spiritual  feeling  tended  to  break 
down  sectarian  barriers.  So  when  we  throw 
the  light  of  history  uj  .  this  question,  our 
sympathy  for  the  perplexed  patriots  is  kindled 
as  we  remember  that  in  the  confusion  of 
their  disappointment  they  could  not  see  the 
full  scope  of  their  own  inquiry  and  the  large- 
ness of  God's  answer. 

-  Another    gain    was     revelation    through 
experience.      How   do    men  learn    such  a 
great  truth  as  this,  a  truth  so  alien  to  crude 
primitive  thought,  that  the  true  sacrifice  is 
the  broken  heart  and  contrite  spirit  ?»     Not 
by  dictati.  n  from  prophet  or  priest,  nor  even 
by  verbal  statement  from   heaven,  but  by 
actual  experience,  sanctified  by  the  guidance 
of  God's  spirit.     We  have  to  learn  it  in  this 
way  to-day  though  it  has  been  written  in  the 
book  and  nobly  expounded.     It  was  when 
ifte  temple   was   lost  that   men   learned  its 
limitanon  as  well  as  iv.  true  glory.     It  was 
not  wrought  out  in  speculative  theory  but  in 
the   hard   facts   of  a  painful  discipline  that 
Jehovah's  songs,  the  songs  of  Zion,  could  be 

*  P«.  li.  17. 
12 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

•ung  in  a  foreign  land.     Thus  the  presence 
J^f  Jehovah  everywhere  was  proved  and  the 
borders  of  Zion  were  enlarged.     This  could 
not  come  to  perfection  all  at  once  ;  even  our 
'monotheism »  is  still  limited  in  practice, 
though  m  thought  it  has  attained  to  universal 
significance.     To  do  justice   to  the    actuaJ 
facts  we  must  use  the  great  watchwords  of 
different  ages  and  speak  of  evolution  through 
election,  and  revelation  through  life.     These 
«d   find  their  expression  in  literacure,  most  of 
all  m  this  sacred  literature  which  tells  the 
story  of  man's  pilgrimage  toward  the  heavenly 
city,  the  home  of  truth. 


3-  The  Lost  So  no. 

What  becomes  of  a  song  when  you  cannot 
sing  It?  That  depends  surely  upon  the 
chanicter  of  the  song.  If  it  is  a  shallow 
Jingle,  a  song  of  the  earth  and  of  the  hour,  it 
dies  upon  your  lips  in  the  face  of  a  great 
sorrow  and  disappears  for  ever.  If  it  is  of 
Cod  and  eternity  it  passes  through  silence  to 
a  larger  life.     Let  us  not  be  afraid  of  silence 

13 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

it  has   its  part  to  play  a,  well  as  speech. 
When  you  cannot  sing   the   song  you  can 
thmk  upon  .ts  meaning  and  it  may  strike 
more  de,  ply  ,„to  your  heart.     We  can  read  of 
men,  hke  Robertson  of  Brighton,'  who,  at  a 
Frfcular  penod   of  their  career,  lost  their 
theology  though  their  rehgion  did  not  die 
To  such  men  the  hour  of  silence  was  fruitful! 
they  fought    their    doubts,   they    gathered 
strength,  they  did  not  make  theif  j^dgm  nt 
bimd.     A  larger,  richer  theology  was  born  of 
a  deeper  experience.     The  expression  of  this 
renewed  hfe    might    seem    to   the  narrow 
r.tual.st  or  hard   legalist  to  be  "heretical," 

wealth  of  mspiration   and   blessing.     Thus 
he  lost  song  has  ever  passed  through  silence 
o  a  larger  hfe.     The  cry  «  How  can  we  sing 
Jehovah  s  song  in  a  strange  land  ?  "  tells  ut 
of  the  growmg  pains  of  the  Hebrew  religion 
«  shows  us  the  struggle  through  whid,  i 
passed  from  a  small  local  scene  to  the  fore- 
front of  the  world's  great  stage.     If  Judaism 
never  became  completely  universal,  it  gained 
■  See  Lifi,  o/F.  W.  Rokr,.«,,  by  Stopford  Brooke. 

'4 


s 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

something  of  a  world-wide  spirit.  Even  those 
whowould  fain  have  kept  the  music  of  the  sone 
to  themselves,  when  they  learned  to  sing  it  in  a 
foreign  land,  rendered  a  service  to  humanity 
and  prepared  the  way  for  a  fuller  emancipation 
and  enfranchisement  of  religion  and  the  soul 
And  the  music  of  this  song  ought  to  be 
heard  m  everything.     Our  foreign  lands  are 
not  all  a  matter  of  geography.     The  Church 
has  carried  the  gospel  into  every  land  and 
translated  the  Bible  into  every  tongue  •  but 
can  we   say   we   have  no  strange  lands,  no 
provinces  of  life,  that  are  still  to  be  won  for 
God  ?     We  know  well  that  to-day  there  must 
be  an  historical  development,  an  extension  of 
God  s  power  into  every  corner  of  the  soul 
and  every  sphere  of  human  life. 

Sorrow,  in   all  its  forms,  is  still  to  us  a 
foreign  land  although  it  is  the  common  lot  of 
mortals.     We  have  each  to  face  it  and  find 
God  in  It.     When  it  comes  upon  us  suddenly 
and  with  great  force  we  cry,  «I  was  dumb,  I 
opened  not  my  mouth    because  thou   didst 
It.         When  we   have  looked  into  the  face 
*  Pb.  xxxix.  9. 
15 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

ll  '°7,r"  *»W°i"'ment  that  h,s  dis- 
looted  all  our  plan,  and  brought  confu=rf"„ 
mto  our  life,  we  have  asked  the  pertinent 
question,  « How  can    Ik.  I'wuncnt 

the  r  o  J  . .       '  "Pected  to  sing 

the  Lord  s  song  ,n  this  strange  land  > "    Our 

become  b.tter  under  the  pressure  of  pain,  but 
.f  we  come  out  of  our  sad  experience  w  th  a 
^.tronger  fa.th,  then  our  jo;  is  purer  and 

Politics  seem  to  many  people  to  be  a 
foreign  land  where  strict  honesty  and  noble 
sennment  can  scarcely  be  at  hoLe.  Some 
have,  m  a  cymcal  mood,  maintained  that  we 

of  truth  and  kmdness  that  we  expect  in  the 
home  and  the  church.  This  is  a  wre^hVd 
dualism,  we  can  only  have  two  standards  Tf 
we  have  two  gods.  One  of  these  gods  is 
Lkely  to  be  .  devil,  a  patron  of  falsf  com- 
promise and  corrupt  greed.  The  true 
patriots  are  those  who  are  endeavouring  to 
smg  theLord-s  song  in  this  land,  a  son|  of 
^oodwiU-d  helpfulness  to  those  who 'a^e 

i6 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

Still  less  does  it  seem   possible  to  apply 
Christian  principles  to  all  our  relations  with 
men  of  different  blood  and  language.     They 
are  our  rivals  in  commerce  and  may  be  our 
enemies  in  war  ;  we  must  watch  them  keenly 
and  be  ready,  at  any  moment,  to  meet  them 
i    fierce  strife.     If  this  is  true  then  we  must 
confess   that   we   have   not  yet   solved  the 
problem  that  faced  the  patriots  in  Babylon. 
There  are  whole  tracts  of  human  life  that  are 
in  the  sway  of  strange  gods  and  that  do  not 
yet  acknowledge  the  Prince  of  Peace.     In  all 
lands,  and   in   all  churches.  Christian   men 
need  to  meditate  upon  this  ancient  question 
and  find  that  there  is  still  a  deep  suggcstive- 
ness  in  the  words,  "How  can  we  sing  the 
Lord's   song    in    a    strange  land?"      We 
cannot   be   content,  and  the   spirit  of   our 
religion   cannot    be    fulfilled,   until    in    all 
spheres  of  life  and  in  all  regions  of  the  world 
the  actual  rule  of  the  Christ  is  accepted,  and 
we  can  say  in  the  largest  sense,  «  On  His  head 
are  many  crowns."  ^ 

^  Rev.  xix.  12, 


B 


'7 


II. 

THE  ATTRACTIVE  POWER  OF 
TRUE  RELIGION. 

Isaiah  II.  2-4,  Micah  IV.  1-4. 

I.  The  Place  of  the  Passage  in  Hebrew 
Literature. 

We  have  here  a  passage  which  appears  in 

two  places   and  the  simplest  explanation  :" 
tb,t  fact  „  that  .t.  at  one  time,  existed  separ- 
^y  and  was  paced  by  different  editors  in 
two  different  collections.     If  we  were  com- 
piled to  attribute  it  to  either  Isaiah  or  Micah 
Isa.ah  must  certainly  have  the  preference,  as' 
he  wa   an  mhab.tant  of  Jerusalem  and  lo;ed 
the  cuy.     M,cah.  on  the  other  hand,  wala 
countryman  and  found  in  the  cities  of  Samaria 
and  Jerusalem   the  chief  cause  of  offence 
agamst  Jehovah  ;  his  denunciation  of  those 
cfes  and  especially  his  prediction   of  the 

18 


I 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

destruction  of  Jerusalem  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion      We  cannot  think   that   the  peasant 
prophet   of   the    Judean   lowlands,   in    the 
eighth  century  b.c,  cherished  any  such  lofty 
Ideal  for  the  future  destiny  of  the  city  that 
he  denounced  ;  he  was  concerned  with  its 
present    corruption    rather   than   its   future 
exaltation.    For  Isaiah  the  case  was  different, 
he  shared  the  life  of  Jerusalem  and  did  not 
merely  denounce  i^  from  the  outside  ;  he  had 
a  message  of  hope  as  well  as  a  fierce  indict- 
ment,  and    believed    in    redemption    after 
judgment,  if  only  for  a  remnant.     This  may 
be  seen  clearly  from  that  noble  -  Song  of  the 
City     wh,ch  all  regard  as  genuine.^     In  the 
Book  of  Isaiah,  then,  this  poem  has  found  a 
suitable  home,  as  the   supreme  interest  of 
that  prophet  was  in  the  city  of  David,  and  he 
cherished  desires  and  hopes  for   the  future 
welfare  of  Zion,  even  if  he  did  not  express 
them  in  this  precise  form.     Still,  after  all   it 
IS  more  likely  that  these  words  came  to  'us 

^Mic.  Hi.  12;  Jer.  xxvi.  i8. 
V.  ,-7?  '*  ""'^ '  '^'  "''°  "  ^^'  Song  of  the  Vineyard," 

19 


il 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

from  a  disciple  of  the  prophet  who  lived  at 
cast  two  centuries  Jater.  i„  the  age  of  fi/ekiel 

possible  to  regard  it  as  a  dream  of  his  vourh 
or  the  hope  of  his  old  age.    Isaiah's  mc^::!' 

order  of  thought.     Instead  of  creating  glow- 
«g  p.c  ures  of  the  distant  future  for  It  If 

Character  of  worship.'     To  retain  the  passage 
Its  meaning  is  too  great  a  price  to  pay      U 

does  not  do  fun  justice  to  tLgreat^hlpe  to 
say  that  the  nations  will  not  cive  un  A.- 

ownworshipbutmerelyaclcnow^ejrhS 
"  **  "o"  "Pright  and  truest  G<^ «    w 

^Isa.  vH.  9;  i.  ,o-i 
Duhm,  cf.  Gray,  7'i.  fnurnaiional  Con,m.niar,. 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

of  both  prophets,  that  the  nations  shall  make 
their  pilgrimage   to  Jerusalem  not  for  the 
purpose  of  offering  sacrifice  there  but  to  learn 
God  s  way,  the  knowledge  of  Whom  shall  go 
out  from  there  over  the  world-a  splendid 
presentiment  which  has  received  its  fulfilment 
in  Christianity." »    The  nobler  view  depicted 
in  these  words  demands  the  later  date      It 
was  only  through  the  slow  painful  discipline 
of  many  generations  that  this  consciousness 
ol-  a  high  vocation  and  this  vision  of  world- 
wide service  was  reached. 

It  is  worth  while  repeating  that  there  is  the 
closest  connection  between  literature  and  life 
the  life  of  godly  men  to  whom  we  owe  so 
much,  the  life  which  has  proved  itself  to  be 
one   of  the   highest  organs  of   the    divine 
revelation.''     The   fact   that  we  must   now 
regard  the  Book  of  Isaiah  not  as  the  work  of 
one  man  but  as  a  library  of  prophetic  litera- 
ture, reflects  great  light  on  the  struggles  of 
those  distant   days.     The  revelation  in  this 
book  IS  now  seen  to  be  larger  and  more  varied 
than   ever   before.     The   original  Isaiah  of 

»Ge8emu8,,82i.  2  See  p.  78. 

21 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

Jcrus,Iem  stand,  more  clearly  before  u,  „!rh 
his  presentation  of  the  ki„,„hi„  /  ,  u  " 
his  call  to  ftith  ,„7  *'.ngship  of  Jehovah, 

wc  have  The^tr-B^rr-',  """^ 
"hich  gave  comfort  t^  a  b^r1r"°"  " 
P~I^c  when  the  threalings  tf  tt'T' 
prophets  haH  r-^--     j        ^  ^"*^  earlier 

BelonSg  t  n  I  Vt  '"*"  '""""'"'•' 
predictions  of  wo  d  iir  '^'  "'  """^  *« 

vindi^tionofSvai:^,'^':;;.:"'',*:!:!^ 

storehouse  also  are  eather,H  r  *" 

the  work  of  namdeJtuh  7"^  ^"^'"""> 
best  thoughts  and  ri  h«t  Jetr."'' '"''' 
stream  of  literature  °  *"  S''^''' 

atdlLrr''^"''''"^°^*^-"'r'pX: 

atvSb!,i7f^w"r°'^'^^^^^^^^^ 

'«t  woM  Aat  nl-)'^?"'"  ''""°'  ^  "-^ 

'^-isme*::;:rhirGrrr 

*^^  final  purpose  of  the  eternal 

*  Too    «» 


*  I«a.  vi. 

'  Isa.  xxiv.-xxvii. 


22 


"  Isa.  xJ.-Jv. 

*  Cf.  Isa.  iv.  2-6. 


^hc  Power  of  True  Religion 

^reat  creaf.V^  ^    •      .      ^    "  ^"^  '"C"  of 

this  sacred  L/X'TTn  ""''•     ^f""  - 
systems  i„  r^h  ch'  X  T":''  ""°'" 

">e  of  history  and  in  the  unfr        ^'  ""^"- 
of  a  gracious  God.  ""'^'''»«  P"vidence 

*•   ^"^  GlOWTH   OF  THE   Idba. 

As  a  mere  matter  of  theory  or  of  r  ^' 
power  considered  in  the  abstract  I  n/.  f  ' 
P'eceof  literature  could  T'  P"'™'" 
'-e.  but  this  ha  be  f  sh Irr^'  "  "^ 
fading  of  the  Scriptures  ttbT,!,:  T"'"! 
view-the  product  of  a  theo^  'mechanical 
too  far  from  actual  l^e      F ^^  •''" '''' ^one 

^ay,  men  who    hou±  upr./r'-^ -'- 
God"  in  a  c;,^^i  ^        P^'^  ^^^  ways  of 

there  h  d   b^l  T""  T''   '-'"« 

loftier   views  Vcofr  I""   '°"-  '° 

7   '"'^   ''"ty,   that  the 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

Christ  came  in  «<the   fulness  of  time"  to 
give  a  richer  reality  to   thoughts   that  had 
long  been  struggling  for  expression.     Thi* 
truth,  held  at  first  in  a  vague  imperfect  form, 
now  shines  out  with   wonderful  clearness. 
Not  only  is  it  in  harmony  with  one  of  the 
leading  ideas  of  our  time,  it  has  also  been 
abundantly  illustrated  by  the  historical  study 
of  the  sacred  writings.     We  can  trace  the 
growth    of   the    Hebrew    nation    and    the 
gradual   t  largement  of    the  religion    that 
this  nation   was    destined    to   give   to   the 
world.     The  people  had  to  conquer  a  home 
for  themselves  and  a  measure  of  real  politi- 
cal unity,  before  the  prophetic  message  could 
enter  deeply  into  their  life  and  grow  into  a 
system  of  living  truth  of  more  than  national 
significance.     The  blessing  said  to  have  been 
given  to  Abraham  appears  to  mean  that  his 
seed  should  become  so  numerous  and  pros- 
perous that  they  would  excite  the  admiration 
and  envy  of    surrounding    people.*      The 
Israelites  did   not   at   first  claim  the   whole 
world  or  even  the  whole  of  Palestine  for 

*  Gen.  xii.  3  ;  etc. 
24 


I 


I 


r 


:A''S£iMSKft 


n 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

'^^  *«>  God  J  they  ^knowlcdged  the 

w«  that  he  would  b  driC^;'";"'"""' 
'hip  of  Jehovah  his  Go5 1^  if  l""'  T" 
the   natural  actio,    for    men    Jh°         "? 

ali  i:  a^fiJS/'o'hirtfd  r '"''' 

°  existence  as  a  nation  and  aiven    fK 

great  privileges  as  HJc  ^  ^^^'^^ 

o        K   vucgcs  as  His  servants.     Thi'Q  fo.fU 

maintained  itself  as  fh^  «  ^*^" 

unitv   to  tK?  "^  P"^^*"  ^^a^  gave 

^^-i^a^therealLre^ni-t:' 

hfn'th      ?"^''  *'~"'"«  "'">  Baal  wot 
»h.p  the  thought  of  Jehovah's   nature  and 

con^s^ndtt^   I''^'"-'-'^  «-' 
-riors  antfi e?  Xhet""    The^''''°''' 

'^^'  -•>-  ---'HatcoJelwr: 


*  Judg.  xi.  24. 


25 


^  '  Sam.  xxvj.  19. 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

P»«  but  they  hJl  r  .  ""  ^"^  ** 
They  found  then.  *  f"  *°'"''  •o  do- 
'.ovahtt'irr.*,t"°"'''''.°'j'- 

twk  to  set  forth   «,h  f  ""  "■«'■• 

mora,  ck^l^'f  ^     The^tn  "'^  '"' 
this  in  any  abstn..,  ^  ''"*  "ot  do 

osopher^fc'o^    :;';:f -»'«  P--''- 

ventionai   tone    of    the    mnf  ~"- 

While  they  regarded  thei?    ''"''''"• 

good  manias  one  whf^i':r"t'''v"'' 
in  a  spirit  of  h.      i  ^  ^^^°^<^  ^od 

heed  to  the  cry  of  .h^""^'   ^"^'"6  »P«"' 

-p|e..doj::.t;m-- 

26 


le 


w 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

from   ,he   thought  of  o«  G^ f  "!,'  '^«'''' 
consciously  for  oL  all         ^  *"''  "8« 

social  goodness  and   civ  I    ,•  i.  "'^ 

binding  upon  «//.  that      i,?s '"'"""'  " 
further  reflection,   tl,     th,  ""'  "P"" 

God,  the   King  ;f^    !'!„    "J""  '"'"« 
never   saw   thf  fiill  '      '^'"J'  >«" 

-hing.  and'll' JrX""/  r" 
'■gious  tribalisn,.  but  th  p^lnl^rlT 
ment  advanced  on  this  hi^lf    i  '^'' 

the  influences  of  ti:u"tSnfoTth""'" 
Phets.  thoughtful  men  Iear„7to  ,0^^^^ 
'heir  past  history  as  a  divfn,  ^  •  v  P"" 
it  is  seen  that  "election  "  "P'""''"  ""^ 

notmerelytopriv    ;      SucVr""'"'"'' 
ment  could  not  ^  T'     j  ^"'  """e- 

-"^d^  cling    persistent]/        Tl'r 
tHat  the  chief  purpose  of  .       ^  °"^^^ 

'"ateriaJ  prosperity    ndsu  ^       "'' ^°  ^'^^ 
^     P  nty  and    success  against  the 

■Deut.  viii.  a  •  Isa.  vJ    i.     c 
passages.  "^  '''-^'^-  See  especially  the  Servant 

27 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

cannot  do  just.ce  to  a  complex  situation  ;  it 
deals  m  general  terms,  leaving  aside  all  the 
P^turesque  details  of  a  struggle  that  wen 
on  unce,,ngly.     The  conflict  between  what 
we  call  •  superst,t,on  "  and  the  higher  faith 
entered    mto  all   spheres   of   polLal    and 

trT'L  I:  ■'  T "  ''^"^^■^  ''"-- 

great    thoughts    and    deep-seated    instincts 
and   long-established   customs.      But  while 
to  the  last  the  religion  of  the  Old  Testament 
■s  kept  wthin  national  limits,  and  in  many 
cases  coarse,  narrow  features  mark  the  picture 
of  the  future,  yet  it  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that   the  great   leaders  of  the   peopk 
Z;  to  the  vision   of  a   national   venation 
that  earned  .n  .tself  a  suggestion  of  world- 
wide  service. 


3-  The  Statement  op  the  Passage. 

It  seems  probable  that  we  have  here  a 

ir^^  h"  f":  '''°P''"  °^  ^"'''-  ="«•  that 
n  each  of  these  divisions  we  have  a  dis- 

t.nct  feature  of  the  picture  of  the  glorious 


'^ 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

future.'  Here  i  ser  forth  fi  -.t  the  exaltation  of 
Zion;  Jehovah  ,  n.ountain  is  to  be  established 
at  the  head  of  the  mountains,  or  to  be  acknow- 
ledged as  the  chief  of  the  mountains.     It  is 
possible  that  a  physical  heightening  as  well  as 
a  religious  supremacy  may  be  implied  in  this 
prediction.     Zion  thus  exalted  and  acknow- 
ledged as  so  to  speak,  the  religious  metro- 
polis of  the  world,  shall  draw  to  itself  vast 
numbers  of  people  of  different  nationalities.^ 
By  the  eye  of  faith  the  prophet  sees  them 
flowing  m  great  streams  to  the  holy  city,  and 
they  themselves  declare  that  the  purpose  of 
^eir  pilgrimage  is  to  go  up    to  Jehovah's 
mountain  and  to  the  house  of  the  God  of 
Jacob.-*The  reason  why  they  seek  to  visit 
the  sanctuary  of  Jehovah  is  then  given  •  it 
';   "°'   """"^^y   to   bring   sacrifice   and   fi'nd 
favour,  but  to  receive  teaching.     For  Zion  is 
the  source  of  religious  instruction,  and  from 
Jerusalem  the  word  of  God  starts  out  upon 
a  mission  of  mercy   to    mankind.   ,  Thus 

.ha'.I'r.hrcouS  "7h"  f  r-  '■""  '^'>'-  >»"  - 

29 


^^ 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

|!ad.r  accepted  out  •d;th"'otro7 1'::  t 
The  resuJf  nfrr^^>       i  ^""us  or  Israel. 

life  sh.n telf;^„Vpt;::f' '"".'-'-" 

&  peace  and  prosperity. 
"  Nation  shaJJ  not  Jift  up  «worH        • 
Neither  shaJJ  they  IZ  '^"""  "^"■°"' 

But    they    sha  1    L  '  '"^  '"°^^- 

und^r  hiffigl:"^^  ">-   -'^er   his  .i„e  and 
And  nought  shall  n,ak;  them  afraid." 

tent:t/trere^^^^"^--^-^-o„. 

-  -n^in  n.:  :  ;t:  r^  ^' 
ideas.     The  moH^m  ^         religious 

-i^»  p.oud,,  !:;'':;,/;„  ^^:^^- - 

world  of  thTchreT  '"''  '"^^  "'""'^^ 
■     .  ""'™   we   claim   to  be   rif,„„ 

'^  -t  not  also  a   thought  that   h,  ' 

through  the  centuries  aS  to  Chichthf""" 
oOerusalemhavecontributedTht'steT 

30 


t-  -i 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

of  this  short  poem      It  th       ''1'  "'''"'*'"' 
»,fh  ,u  ■       ^  "  *°"'^  *«'  the  Jews 

w.th  the,r  centre  at   Jerusalem,  have   Z' 

-ngthanddij:- e^rTrSsS 

.s«.  related  to  the  people  of  the  Ir*2 
he  ma„.festatio„  of  His  presence  will  Lt 
countless  multitudes.     Men  feel  fhl  .f 
great  need  is  .         ction  Th-         r  .     *'"' 
fell  r^cross  life".      ,h        '•.        '"'  '«'"  ""« 
how  toTiv  "nShr^     ""'"  '"  '°  "^""^ 
jHe  ac  wCt:r  oT  a'^m^n  £" 

iru:irnrnTr--r 

/  Jiiere  is  a  fine  spiritual  ioeic  in  ,h. 
P«3age:  the  things  that  are  placTsdebv 
».de  have  a  vital  relationship '^^olachotht^ 
and  not  a  mere  ,.vt^.    i  ""^"^ 

ought  to  be  a"^  r     '  tl"""'°"- ,  ^-^ 

than  fK«      •  •     ,  ^"'^  '"ore  clearJv 

""  ""^  ""S'""'  "--"Y  as  we  read  his  pZ 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

gramme  in  the  light  of  hm^r  -™   • 
We  nepH  ,,„»  ,      ^  "^  experience. 

°eedJo;'   rh""'*^  ''"  "^^  "-^  spiritual 

eeds  of  the  hum.n  race,  that  if  Christianity 

R  '"be  more  than  a  mere  name  the  modern 

B%,ons  must  be  conquered  in  the  nief 

-on^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  When    ;his 

dream   large  enough  for  the  world.     Thu' 
4.  The  Missionary  Idea  in  the 

I'ASSAGE,    AND    ITS    Permanence. 

«"    lurcner  meditation    and   fuller 
expansion,  but  we  are  n«„, 
concern.^       1  "^  '"°'"^  Particularly 

concerned  with   one,   namely,  the  attractive 

32 


:e. 

lO 

al 

7 
n 

)f 

s 

a 

s 

f 


J 


f- 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

power  of  a  great  religion.     There  is  a  f  .-eat 
confidence  that  a  real  revelation  from  God 
h«s  been  given,  and  that  such  a  revelation 
wll  be  Its  own  evidence,  and  will  draw  to  it 
sncere  truth-seeking  spirits.      Later,  there 
came  the  command  to  go  forth  and  teach  all 
nations,   and    the   great   thought    that   the 
possession  of  an  important  truth  carries  with 
It  the  obligation  to  missionary  service.     But 
first  this  side  of  the  missionary  idea  was 
born    that  God  wiU  make  the  place  of  His 
dwelling  glorious   with    a    glory   that   will 
Jreak    down    local    barriers    and    secUrian 
prejudice.     It  may  seem  strange  to  us  that 
the  Jew,  who  later  gained  the  reputation  of 
a  hater  of  mankind,"  should  have  set  forth 
m  such  noble  forms,  beliefs  that  imply  a  real* 
relationship   between   the   men  of  different 
nations_a  relationship   that  is  deeper  and 
wronger  than  the  superficial  differences  that 
dmde  them      Here  is  ftith  in  the  presence 
of  God  and  the  power  of  His  revelation 

&th  ,n  the  need,  dignity,  and  capacity"; 
man  fa^h  ,n  the  strength  and  beauty  of 
truth  and  the  influence  of  teaching,  faith  i„ 

33 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

a  brighter  future  for  which  m-« 

which  God  will  grant     A  I.h         ^"'"  '"^ 

beer 'of  in  -  ur;r  r- 

the  life  of  God  is  in  it\        *  "^  .     ^^^^"'^ 
"'  ^oa  IS  in  It  It  cannot  be  kenf  ,*« 

»"r  "holy  city,"  men  will  come  for  1^1^ 

cany  it  forth.     ,„  ,,;,  ,e„s  "th     "' 

God  which!  »:j4"::::';„f-e'ft<>f 

the  perfect  day."  cofld  „      be  coXe;t 
limitations  of  nkce  or  no.-      v    °"""^^  °7 

The  permanence  of  this  idea  is  one  nf  fl, 
outstanding  features  of  our  tLe     tL 

P.ache.a„dteachertesrar:i;^ 

k"dtf:i'v;''^°^?'»--^°-his 

"ork   .s    growing  and   becoming 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

constantly  more  effective.     We  cannot  now 
dwell  upon  the  advantage  and  dangers  of  all 
this    machinery;    this    one    fact,    however, 
demands   our   attention  :    there   must   be  a 
livmg  relation  between  the  life  of  a  nation 
and    Its    missionary    service.       The     Jews 
became    in  a  certain  measure,  a  missionary 
people  because  they  were  led  by  God  to  a 
richer   conception    of  truth  and  a  stronger 
thought   of  religion    than    that  which   their 
world   possessed.      We  cannot,   then,   press 
the   distinction   between   home  and  foreign 
missionary.     We  may  find  foreign  mission- 
ary work  in  our  own  city  and  in  our  own 
souls  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  assistance  of 
our  foreign  missionaries  must  not  be  merely 
"1    our    financial    support    and    their   self- 
sacrificing  spirit,  but  it  must  have  its  real 
basis  in  the  character  of  the  nation  that  sends 
them.     Thus  it  is  seen  that  the  right  solution 
of  our  own  political  and  social  problems  is  a 
part   of   foreign    missionary   work.     If  we 
cannot  conquer,  to  a  larger  extent,  the  power 
of  drink,  ignorance,  and  vice  within  our  own 
borders,  we  cannot  do  the  higi.est  kind  of 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

missionary  „ork.     If  Christian  nation,  can- 
not    b„„g  pnnciple,  of  justice   into   their 
reatment  of  weaker  peoples  and  theTr    ela 
nons  wuh  each  other,  to  that  extent  do    heJ 
faU  short  of  the  prophetic  programme.     tZ 
t.me  has  gone  by  when  the  missionary  work 
can    e  considered  as  being  summed  up  ,7at 
effort  to  g.ve  peace  to  the  individual  soil,  o 
that  heaven  may  be  accepted  as  the  deliver 

«rom..d  the  compensation  for.  tSs 
or  earth.     The  relationship  of  man  tr.  n  a 

.ndeed   of  individual   me^to  God" mult* 
always  be  the  basis  of  religion   fh/' 

tion  of  all  high  service     Z  P"'" 

construe  fK.  r  "'  "'  ""S'  now 

realise  that  religion  has  to  create  a  city  of 
God  here,  a  society  whose  members  se^  ^o 

ih  can  t  b""r  ""'  '"J°^  '"«  P-« 
Which  can  be  based  on  righteousness  alone 

noWel   f  """«•  ""^  """"iveness  of 
noble  l,fe,  the  community  of  need  and  desire 

asCh  isri"      °""''°°'*  °f  men-insomuch 
as  Chnsfan  nations  are  succeeding  in  giving 

=•  I.v.ng  expression  to  these  religlus  Idea"^ 

36  ' 


The  Power  of  True  Religion 

we  may  say  that  the  true  Jerusalem  is  finding 
a  place  on  earth  ;  and,  at  least,  let  us  in  our 
churches  beware  lest,  when  we  have  elaborated 
the  missionarj  maciiinery  to  high  perfection, 
there  should  be  radical  weakness  in  the  inner 
life.     It  is  not  a  final,  finished  theology  that 
we  can   send  out   in  definite  parcels,  but  a 
Iivmg,  growing  faith  that  we  must  share  with 
mankind.     The  oneness  of  humanity  means 
now  something  larger  than  ever  before,  but 
we  rejoice  that  in  this  charming  picture  from 
a  distant  time  there  is,  with  all  its  simplicity, 
a  suggestion  and  promise  of  a  fellowship  that 
IS  spiritual  and  eternal. 


37 


i 

1 


III. 

THE  MISSIONARY  SERVANT. 
Immh  XLII.  1-4. 

^'X'c  fo™  -ri^K;-"^;^^  'Pi-  and 
purpose  is  disi^.d    ""  T  "'' °"'«.  'he 

fort  Jehovah-s  pcopk  Id'  '''  1°  "■"" 

«w  courage   bv  Z  '"''"'■'  """^  '° 

destiny.  iL?c  ,  n:: : ;  «'-7 

regarded  as   the  work  of  7  n.^'"'""'' 
name  and  exact  pTace  „/     -^P^"  "''°'e 

known,  who  was  „t?dbv  the  r"  "^  """ 
to  give  consolation  lo  the  t^r  "'•"  °^^'^ 
He  bases  his  messLe  of  .  7  '"«  ""«• 
theology,  a  lo^  2;  :'  Go'^'"?".."  8^^' 
forth  in  the  noble  fnT    I        '  'P'endidly  set 

Jehovah.  thrc:l:t::7/S:eTw. 

Guide    of  history,    has   caTw    .  P'""" 

^i-istryof^er^'.ytlil^' 

3°  * 


The  Missionary  Servant 

when  the  nation  was  in  ruin,,  and  the  plan, 

of  It,  leader,  ,n  hopeless  confusion,  nothing 
but  «  great  thought  of  God  could  act  with 
crcafve  healing  power.  We  cannot  at  This 
point  attempt  to  expound  the  whole  theology 

I«.ah        Suffice  .t  to  say  that  it  was  in  ,he 

bel°  „Tr  "'  ""  '"'"'°"  "^'he  nation 
began  to  take  on  a  wider  outlook.  Why 
.ndeed  should  this  great  God  build  up  the 

s"c«tre°d  ^""1^  '•"'  """«  '"S""-  ^ 
scattered  sons  and  daughters  of  Zion  if  there 

Th,s  thought  .,  not  worked  out  into  a 
complete  philosophy,  it  i,  „ot  freed  entirely 
„/"'  »'.'."«'°"»I  limitations,  but  there  is  less 

ofho,fl,tyto<'theheathen,"andthereisa 
looking  toward,  the  great  truth  that  those 
whom  God  redeem,  and  to  whom  He  reveal, 
Himselfmust  in  their  turn  be  witnesses  and 
ight-bearers.'  This  "election"  i,  from 
the  free  sovereign  mercy  of  Jehovah  and 
not  from  Israel's  merit ;  out  of  the  richnes, 
of  His  nature,  the  largeness  of  Hi,  love,  the 

*  xlii.  6;  xliii.  lo. 
39 


The  Song  am!  the  Soil 

God  of  hracl  lavishes  upon  Hi,  people  ehl, 
undeserved  and  unrequited  generosity  The 
vc^r  sutement  of  such  a  love  ha,  in  it 
.omethmg  evangelical,  something  that  will, 
when  ,t .,  understood,  overpass  the  limits  o 
mere  nationality. 

'.  The  Servant  Idea  and  the  Servant 
Passages. 

It  i,  true  that  this  comes  out  most  clearly 
m  the  four  passages  which  are  regarded  as 
separate  poems  and  thought  by  some  scholars 
to  be  of  later  date.'     There  the  figure  of  th" 
servant  app^rs.  elected  to  teach  the  nations! 
conscous  of  a  mi„ion  larger  in  its  scop 
than  the  mm.stry  to  Israel,  subject  to  mis- 
■nterpretation   and   persecution,  bearing  the 
burden   of  pain   for  the  benefit  of  ofhe„ 
Many  of  the  keenest  scholars  still  believe 
that  these  poem,  stand  in  their  proper  place 
and   form   the  loftiest   points  of  Deufer" 

the  hour  of  weakness  and  apparent  extinction, 

■xl".  .-4ixlix.  1-6,  1.4-9,  lii.,3.jiii.„. 
40 


The  Missionary  Servant 

is  led  to  the  great  thought  that  she   is   a 
missionary  nation,  that  she  must  bear  witness 
in  a  gentle  spirit  to  an  unbelieving  world 
Not  only  is  the  light  in  Jerusalem  kindled 
by  Jehovah's  presence   to  be  so  pure  and 
strong  as  to  attract  those  who  are  hungering 
for  the  truth,  there  is  to  be  an  effort  to  carry 
that  truth  into  distant  lands.     This  is  then 
the  nearest  approach  to  the  great  command, 
Go  ye  mto  all  the  world  and  make  disciples 
of  all  nations."  ^     The  ideal  is  there,  whether 
It  IS  this  great  poet's  conception  of  Israel's 
election  to  service  or  whether  it  is  a  picture 
of  an  individual  teacher  and  sufferer  whose 
destiny  it  is  to  give  a  larger,  richer  meaning 
to  the  service  of  Jehovah.     The  principles 
that  underlie  the  statement  imply  a  oneness 
ot  humanity  and  a  universality  of  religion 
that  can  only  come  to  full  expression  through 
much   painful    progress.     The  greatness   of 
the   missionary   idea    is    seen    more   clearly 
when  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  process  by 
which     like   all    great   truths,    it    has   been 
wrought  mto  the  substance  of  the  world's 

*  Matt,  xxviii.  19. 
41 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

m^  7^  t         '"""  '^"^'  *'»  *°''gl't  that 

o"  er    „  frTT"  ■"""  "---te/to  each 
other   ,n  the   highest   thing,  has  grown  to 

«lent  preparation.  This  could  not  possibly 
be  accomphshed  i„  u„y  one  generation  inl 
world  arranged  and  ruled  on  the  same 
Pnncple  as  ours.  ,t  required  that  Z 
'  ^'^'''"'  "^-y  »'•"!!"  in  their  origin  and 
character  to  other  Semitic  tribes,  shoSd  first 

be  separated  from  their   neighbours  by  the 
growing   stnctness    of   their'  ,aw   an/  the 

vlT  ?"""'''  °'^  ""^'^  God.    This  in. 
-^ed    bitter   struggles   within    the  nation 

the  law  of  Jehovah  supreme  in  all  spheres 
and  produce  «  a  holy  nation."    This  attemp 
wa.  scarcely  well  on  the  way  under  the  nobl 
movement    represented    by    the    Book    of 

^forthTr''  r""'"   *'   P~P''  ""^   »»t 
for  h  to  learn  from  the  hard  logic  o'  facts 

tat  the  truth  could  live  away  frL  the: 
and  religion  exist  apart  from  the  temple.     It 

42 


The  Missionary  Servant 

was  indeed  a  complex  movement,  and  many 
good  men  found  it  difficult  to  adjust  them- 
selves to  the  different   aspects  of  it.     The 
nobler  men  among  the  Jews  were  driven  to 
turn  their  attention  from  the  local  forms  of 
worship  to  the  large  universal  aspects  of  the 
truth.     Their  next  effort  was  to  build  that 
truth  into  a  system,  keep  it  pure,  guard  it 
from  the  attacks  of  those  who,  in  the  very 
process   of  sharing    it,    would    once    more 
weaken  and  degrade  it.     So  the  movement 
went  forward,  first,  separation  for  the  sake  of 
serving  Jehovah,  th-r    a  higher  view  of  the 
nature  of  that  service  ;   a  vigorous  attempt 
to  embody  this  service  in  city  and  temple, 
then  the  sharp  lesson  that  the  truth  is  some- 
thing greater  than  either  city  or  temple  ;  an 
exultant  cry  caused  by  a  noble  interpretation 
of  history,  «  Our  God  has  been  teaching  us 
great  lessons,"  ^  then  the  vision,  given  to  a 
few  noble  souls,  that  the  divine  thing,  the 
lesson    from   God,  cannot  be  for  ourselves 
alone.     This  reuches  its  height  in  the  picture 
of  the  servant.     This  servant-idea,  whether  it 
*  Deut.  viii. 
43 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

is  that  of  a  prophet  nation  or  a  personal 
minister,  is  essentially  Christian  in  its  scope 
and  significance ;  that  is,  it  shows  thoughts 
struggling  for  expression  which  have  attained 
in    Christianity    a    freer    movement  and   a 
supreme    embodiment    in   the    life  of  the 
Christ.     The  servant,  having  a  call  to  carry 
the  religion  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  nation 
addresses    the    distant    isles    and    offers   to 
meet  the   hunger  and   expectation  of  their 
peoples.^     The  same  servant  faces  fierce  op- 
position  with  the  confidence  that  God,  who 
IS  on  the   side   of  truth,   is  more  than  all 
the  opposing  forces.2     The   silent   sufferer 
the   God-cursed   man,  bearing  the  sorrows' 
of  his  kind  or  of  mankind,  presents  a  still 
deeper  view  of  such  ministry,  a  view  that 
IS  prophetic  of  the  noblest  missionary  work  » 
In  the  small  Book  of  Jonah  we  have  the 
other  side  of  the  picture.      Here  is  pre- 
sented  a  different  type   of  a   prophet,  one 
who   IS   chiefly    concerned    with    prediction 
m   a  mechanical   sense   and   with   his  own 
personal   glory.      This    man    is    reluctantly 


'  xlix. 


21.7. 
44 


'  Jiii. 


The  Missionary  Servant 

driven    to   the   foreign  field  and  is  content 
with  the  r6le  of  a  mere  prophet  of  venge- 
ance.    One  cannot  help  feeling,  as  we  study 
the   teaching  of  this  wonderful  little  book, 
that  there  is  an  element  of  satire  in  it,  that 
it  is  a  keen  protest  against  religious  narrow- 
ness.    The  Jonah  of  this   book  is   no  real 
prophet,  but    the    writer    of    it    is    deeply 
imbued   with    the   prophetic   spirit,     'f  we 
could   know   more   clearly  and   closely   the 
circumstances  of  the  Jewish  Church  at  the 
time  when  it  was  written,  we  might   enter 
even  more   fully  into  its  spirit.     As   it   is, 
we  feel  that  the  keynote  of  it  is  to  be  found 
in  the  words  attributed  to  the  men  of  Nine- 
veh :    "Who    knoweth    whether    God   will 
not  turn  and   repent,  and   turn  away   from 
His    fierce    anger,    that    we    perish    not.?" 
And    every    generous    soul    welcomes    the 
statement,   "And    God    saw    their    works, 
that  they  turned  from  their  evil  way;  and 
God  repented   of  the   evil   which    He  said 
He  would  do  unto  them  ;   and  He  did   it 
not." 

That   this   thing   "displeased    Jonah   ex- 

45 


t', 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

ceedingly"   is   to   us    a    revelation  of  this 
/prophet's"  littleness  of  soul,  and   we  re- 
joice in  the  large  sympathy  of  the  question 
with   which  the  book  closes,  "And   should 
not  I  have  pity  on  Nineveh,  that  great  city  • 
wherein  are  more   than    six-score   thousand 
persons  that  cannot  discern    between  their 
right   hand   and   their   left  hand,  and   also 
much  cattle  f "   Our  pride  and  petulance  is 
rebuked,   our    narrow    dogmas    and    small 
xclesiastical  interests  shrink  into  their  pro- 
per proportions  when  thus  set  in  the  larger 
light  of  God's  great  purposes  and  humanity's 
pressing  needs. 


2.  The  Foundation  of  the  Servant's 
Work. 

The  work  of  the  servant  rests  securely 
upon  the  divine  call  and  God-given  equip- 
ment. In  this  whole  Book  the  movement  is 
from  God  to  man  :  what  man  can  do  by  his 
worship  or  work  is  infinitely  small ;  it  is  in 
the  reality  and  beneficence  of  Jehovah's 
purpose   that  strength  is  found.     It  is  the 

46 


The  Missionary  Servant 

great  revelation  of  God  that  gives  the  noble 
thought  of  service.     Here  particularly  the 
thought  that  election  is  not  to  mere  privilege 
but  to  service  receives  special  prominence.^ 
God's  delight  in  the  servant  is  linked  with 
the  work  that  he  shall  do.     The  purpose  of 
the  calling  is  that  he  may  publish  law  or 
spread  religion  ;  this  is  the  high  vocation  in 
which,  through  the  submission  of  the  servant, 
the  God  of  heaven  finds  satisfaction.'     The 
God  who  calls  him  equips  him  for  the  hieh 
task.  ^ 

This  belief  in  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  of 
Jehovah,  as  an  endowment  fitting  men  for 
royal  service  or  prophetic  ministry,  like  all 
other  great  truths,  has  had  a  long"  complex 
history  before  it  appears  in  this  pure  form. 
To-day  there  are  those,  even  in  the  Christian 
Church,  who  either  bind  this  sacred  influence 
to  magical  ceremonies  or  find  it  most  fully 
in   the   startling   and   sensational.     We   are 
tempted  to  say  that  these  are  but  remnants 
of  earlier,   cruder   forms    of    thought,    but 
perhaps  we   do   well  to  guard   against   the 
^  xlix.  6,  7. 


^  xJji.  4. 

47 


f  i 
i 


XI.  2. 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

pride    of    intellectual    refinement    and     to 
remember    that    the    Divine   Spirit   is    still 
compelled    to    work    in     imperfect    forms. 
Indeed,  what  form   can   perfectly  represent 
the    pure  thought  of  God?    This   much, 
however,  we  must  say,  that  this  noble  picture 
of  a  quiet  servant  who,  in  nis  steady,  thought- 
ful work  of  teaching,  proves  the  power  of 
"the   Spirit's"  presence   with   him,   is  one 
of   the    highest  points  of  Old   Testament 
prophecy.     Here  the  Spirit  is  not  manifested 
in   violent   energy   of   patriotic   passion    or 
ecstatic  emotion.^     There  is  a  steady  radiance 
of  light  and  love  ministering  to  human  need. 
The  Spirit  here  does  not  seize,  overpower,  and 
startle,  It  enters  into  the  life  of  the  soul  to 
give  abiding  wisdom   and   strength.     Men 
believed    in   spirits    of  various   kinds    that 
entered    into  human    life   with   mysterious 
power  and  lawless  action.     The  relation  of 
these  strange  forces  to  the  God  of  Israel  was 
not,  all  at  once,  worked  out  clearly,  but  as 
the  prophets  came   to  a  loftier  thought  of 

^Judg^  iii.  ,o;   xiv.    6;    ,  Sam.  x.   lo;  xix.  20  j 
2  Kings  II.  9,  etc.  ' 

48 


The  Missionary  Servant 

God  it  was  seen  that   all   forces   must   be 
subject  to  His  sway  and  all  spirits  obedient 
to  His  will.     As  the  whole  world  becomes 
God's  world,  so  religion  becomes  a  power 
ruling  the  whole  man  ;  the  message  of  the 
teachers  gains  high  intellectual  qualities  and 
great  moral  force.     The  Spirit  becomes  the 
creative,  guiding,  and  inspiring  power  in  the 
highest  sense  ;  at  this  stage  it  is  possible  to 
have  the  ideal  of  a   teacher  who,  while  he 
arises  within   the  nation,  represents  a  faith 
that  is  beginning  to  chafe  against  its  national 
barriers. 


3.  The  Power  of  Gentleness. 

One  of  the  most  important  features  of  this 
picture  is  that  such  stress  is  laid  upon  the 
influence  of  quiet  teaching.  In  those  days 
men  knew  the  stern  coercion  of  custom  or 
law  ;  they  were  quite  familiar  with  displays 
of  unbridled  enthusiasm  in  connection  with 
patriotism  or  religion  ;  they  had  known  also 
from  old  times  the  reverence  given  to  "  wise 
men,"  men  who  could  give  practical  guid- 

D  49 


m 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

ancc.     In  the  wonderful  story  of  Eliiah  i.« 
learn  that  "the  stilJ  small  vo^e"  nTJ'-^K 
a.  revelation  of  God  that  Is    acjfi^ 
violent  earthquake   or  fierce   storm5     I,  i 
difficult  to  sav  how  &r  th.  _  . 

trufh  ,f  ,  V  ™w  rar  the  presentation  of  a 
truth  at  a  parfcular  time  is  in  all  or  any  of 
ts  features  new.  But  when  we  have  r^d 
the  older  records  and  note  the  frequency^f 
ecstatic  outbarsts  and  fierce  denunciation's 

fonns  of  prophetic  life,  we  feel  that  here   s 
dist  net   recognition    of    the   superiority   of 
gentle  reason  and  patient  love.     The^^m.y 

nature  has  its  rights  as  well  as  its  weaknesses 
wtl"?^  *«  *e  soul  must  not  I  oy 
whelmed  by  outside  force  or  driven  by  fierce 
gus  s  of  alien  passion.  Our  Lord  was  , 
public  speaker,  he  lifted  up  his  voileto 
ddress  the  crowd,  at  times  he  was  fie  cen 
yet  the  prevailing  impression  he  has  left  i 

-or  and  brute  forceriiirrr 
^  I  Kings  xix.  12, 

50 


The  Missionary  Servant 

fold  that  bears  His  name,  we  feel  that  we  can- 
not reconcile  such  things  with  His  spirit  and 
teaching       In    fact,   when   men    turn   with 
disgust  from  some  shameful  things  in  the 
history  of  the  Church,  they  find  relief  from 
the   nightmare    in    the   restfulness   of   His 
presence,  in  the  conviction  that  He  has  in- 
carnated  so  completely  the  ideal  of  strong 
taith  and  gentle,  persuasive  power.     It  was  a 
true  instinct  that  led  the  evangelist  to  apply 
this  glorious  passage  to  his  Master's  avoid- 
ance    of    undue     sensation     and     useless 
publicity.^     That  which  created  "Judaism" 
and  enabled  it  to  live  for  a  while  with  the 
temple  and  to  survive  when  the  temple  was 
finally  destroyed,  was  just  this  recognition  of 
intellectual  and  spiritual  elements  in  nligion 
that  can  be  taught.^     This  also  may  produce 
hard  tradition  and  cruel  dogma,  but  that  is 
because  even   the  great   things   must   have 
their  share  of  human  weakness.     This  belief 
in  a  system  of  living  truth  that  can  be  taught 
because  there  is  something  in  man  that  needs 
and   demands   it;    this   glorification   of  the 

1   mf 


*  Matt.  xii.  18-20. 


51 


2  Deut.  xi.  19. 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

teacher  as  a  divine  force   that  makes   the 
message   prevail  as   the   sun   conquers   the 
darkness —  this   is    the    heart   of   any   real 
missionary   idea.       Though    students   have 
done  so  much  for  the  world,  in  dl  spheres 
of  Its  hfe  we  still  glorify  « the  practical  man  "  • 
we  admire  the  success  that  comes  from  loud 
advertisement,  and  fancy  that  the  great  things 
are  created  in  the  roaring  excitement  of  the 
immense   cro^d.     But  when  proper  weight 
has    been    given    to   our    denunciations    of 
Kabbinism,  scholasticism,  and  pedantry,  it  is 
well  to  remember  how  much  we  owe  to  the 
Book,  its  students,  translator-,  and  expositors 
It  speaks  now  in  all  the  languages  of  the 
world  ;  it  is  the  greatest  missionary  power 
and  this  miracle  could  never  have  come  to 
pass  unless   men  had  lovf  d  it,  collected  its 
scattered   fragments,   pondered    its    difficult 
sentences,    and   glorified   the   work   of  the 
teacher.     The  true  teacher  finds  his  strength 
not  in  external  authority  but  in  the  power 
of  the  truth  ;  he  'ibours  patiently,  knowing 
that  if  he   can  once   lead   men    to   catch   a 
glimpse  of  the  vision  that  has  ccme  to  his 

52 


The  Missionary  Servant 

own  soul  they  will  see  in  it  the  very  life  of 
God. 


4.  The  Success  of  the  Servant. 

The  success  of  the  servant   is   assured ; 
he  may  have  hours  of  despondency  and  cry] 
"  I  have  laboured  in  vain,  I  have  spent  my 
strength  for  nought  and  vanity," '  or  «  Will 
ye  also  go  away  ? " »  but  this  is  but  a  passing 
mood,  the  dark   shadow  that  falls  at  times 
over  every  earnest  soul.     He  who  does  not 
break  the  crushed  reed  or  quench  the  dimly 
burning  wick  shall  not  have  his  light  dimmed 
or  his  spirit   crushed  ,  !  :  will  establish  the 
reign  of  religion  in  the  earth,  and  the  coast- 
lands  shall  wait  in  expectant  mood  for  his 
teaching.     Truly  a  noble  faith  this,  faith  in 
the  teacher's  high  mission,  in  the  power  of 
truth,  in    the   need   and  capacity  of  human 
nature.     God   gave   to   this  writer   a   large 
vision,  it  has  stood  there  upon  the  written 
page,  it  has  been  claimed  as  a  prophecy  of 
the  Christ,  it  has  given  cheer  and  stimulus  to 


xHx. 


S3 


^  John  vi.  67. 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

many  a   lonely  worker;    those  who  would 
teach  any  great  truth  still  need  its  quicken- 
ing hope.     Wc  are  justified   in  ascribing  a 
missionary    character    to    the    passage    not 
simply   because    it    is   one   of   tf."   clearest 
statements  that  Israel  has  a  message  which 
no  temple  can  contain  -jnd  no  wall  confine, 
but  because  of  its  own  nature.     The  truths 
presented  and  implied  have  in  them  a  move- 
ment   towards    universality.       Behind    the 
picture  taere  is  the  thought  of  great  truths 
thaf   men    outside    the    chosen   community 
:Tted  and  desire.     There  is  the  vision  of  a 
God   who   rules    the   world,   and   who    has 
guided  its  history  in  such  a  way  as  to  make 
the  present  an  hour  of  opportunity.     This 
short   poem,   these  few   well-chosen  words, 
demand    for    themselves   a   rich   fulfilment! 
The  Jew  may  keep  to  himself  mere  local 
traditions   and    ceremonial    customs,    but  a 
message  with  such  an  evangelical  tone  refuses 
to  be  imprisoned  in  any  one  dialect.     It  is 
not  for  a  race  but  for  humanity,  not  for  an 
age  but  for  all  time,  because  it  comes  to  us 
from  men  who,  when  they  looked  up  to  the 

54 


■usj^^ 


The  Missionary  Servant 

heavens,  not  only  saw  evidences  of  God's 
power  but  also  heard  the  cry  which  is  the 
root  of  all  missionary  enterprise,  "Look 
unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth."* 

»xl.  a6{  and  xlv.  a  a. 


55 


IV. 

THE  UNIVERSAL  HOUSE  OF 
PRAYER. 


Isaiah  LVI.  6,  7. 

It  Is  possible  for  scholars  to  differ  as  to  the 
exact  amount  of  "liberality"  that  is  to  be 
ascribed  to   this   text,   and   we   are   rightly 
warned  against  severing  it  from  its  context 
and  forgetting   the   hard  legal  elements  by 
which   it  is  surrounded.^     It  may   be   that 
these  words  come  from  a  period  when  there 
was  in  the  Jewish  community  considerable 
diversity  of  opinion  and  sharp  discussion  con- 
nected  with  this  very  subject.     Perhaps  in 
that    time    there    were     some    "advanced 
thinkers  "  who,  seeing  that  the  true  spiritual 
sacrifice  could  be  separated  from  the  temple, 
drew  the  conclusion  that  the  temple  might  be 
dispensed  with.     If  so,  that  was  a  mistake. 

»  By  Duhm. 
56 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

The  time  had  not  yet  come  when  the  great 
word    that   emancipates   religion    from    the 
control  of  sacred  places  could  be  spolcen,  and 
even  when  that  word  was  spoken,  it  was  surely 
not    meant  to  tear   the  religious  life  and 
worship  away  from  local  memories  so  that  it 
might  wander  forth  as  a  disembodied  spirit 
in  a  superfine,  ethereal  freedom.'    The  word 
that  destroys  monopoly  and  shames  securian 
bitterness  is  not   intended  to   take  out  of 
religion  all  national  life  and  patriotic  feeling 
The  men  who  were,  five  hundred  years  befofe 

b.iW      '"'/f'"^  "■*''  "™S*  into  the 
bmldmg  of  their  own   temple,  were  doing 

more  than  they  knew  for  the  higher  life  of 
he  world.     This   they  assert  in  their  own 
tenacious  and   narrow    fashion,   when   they 
claim  that  this  house  of  Jehovah  shall  be  a 
House  of  Prayer  for  all  nations.     The  asser- 
tion cannot  be  dismissed  as  mere  sectarian 
"rogance  and  fanatical  patriotism,  there  is  in 
It  the  consciousness  of  possessing  truth  that 
IS  of  more  than  local  meaning  and  applica- 
tion.    It  ,s  one  of  the  tragic  things  in  human 

^  John  iv.  21, 

57 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

life  that  a  great  thought  must  be  wrought 
into  visible  form  in  order  to  play  its  part  in 
the  world,  and  that  when  men  seek  to  give 
it  the  form  appropriate  to  their  time  and  place, 
it  may  become  narrow  and  even  corrupt.  But 
when  we  study  the  creeds  and  forms  of  a  dis- 
tant age  we  mustrememberthat  it  was  the  noble 
faith  and  not  the  imperfect  expression  that  gave 
the  inspiration  and  energy.  The  temple  was 
built  as  a  manifestation  of  faith  in  God's  good- 
ness and  man's  need  to  worship. 


I.  The  Welcome  to  the  Foreigner. 

We  have  here  the  distinct  assurance  that 
Jehovah  is  opposed  to  an  arrogant  exclusive 
spirit  towards  the  foreigners  and  others, 
who  were  regarded  in  the  strict  legal  sense  as 
ineligible  to  become  members  of  the  com- 
munity.* The  great  thing  Is  not  the  bodily 
condition  or  the  difference  of  race  but  the 
willingness  to  submit  to  Jehovah  and  to  sub- 
mit to  His  ordinance.  It  is  true  that  some 
among  the  people  took  a  narrower  view,  or 
*  Deut.  xxiii.  1-3. 
58 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

this  exhortation  would  not  have  been  uttered  • 
it  is  also  true  that  by  the  conflicts  that  took 
place  later  for  the  purity  and  even  the  exist- 
ence of  their  religion  the  hearts  of  the  stricter 
Jews  were  hardened  against  the  outside  world. 
Yet,  except  in  the  very  heat  of  batde,  they 
did  not  lose   sight  altogether  of  the  larger 
significance  of  their   faith.     The   vision  of 
God's  greatness   carried   with   it,   even   in- 
direcdy,  the  oneness  of  the  world  and  the 
brotherhood  of  men.     Foreigners  are  at  first 
welcomed   to   the  brotherhood  under   stern 
precise  conditions  ;  but  this  is  a  beginning 
and  It  is  difficult  for  us  now,  with  aU  our 
wiGdom,  to  see  how  else  die  movement  could 
have  begun.     That  it  did  begin  at  Jerusalem, 
un  ler  great  difficulties  and  limitations,  gives 
to  that  city  an  everlasting  name.     When  we 
look  at  the  later  history  and  present  condition 
of  Jerusalem   we   are   inclined  to  regard  it 
With  supercilious  scorn  as  a  vulgar  story  of 
coarse  fanaticism    and  sectarian   strife.     But 
there  are   moments  and  moods  when  those 
who  have  no  excessive  regard  for  ceremonies 
or  superstitious  reverence  for  sacred  places 

59 


■  M 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

feel  that  there  is  an  ideal  element  running 
through   it  all.     "For  four  thousand  years 
Jerusalem  has  been  the  altar,  the  confessional, 
the  mourner's   bench   of   the   human   race. 
This  has  been  the  place  where  human  nature 
has  meditated,  repented,  and  aspired  ;  here  the 
infinite,  the  undying,  and  spiritual  in  man 
have  expressed  themselves  in  the  melody  of 
song  and  the  importunity  of  ceaseless  prayer  ; 
here  the  currents  v/hich  drift  toward  God  in 
human  nature   have   come   to   share  ;    here 
their  swell  and  sweep  have  lifted  themselves 
into  the  Psalms  of  David,  the  prophecies  of 
Isaiah,  and  the  wailings  of  Jeremiah.     The 
place  has  an  infinite  charm  for  poor,  tempted, 
frail  humanity,  because  here  is  the  spot  where 
One  of  our  own  flesh  and  blood  first  con- 
quered the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil  ; 
here   virtue    and    honour    and  purity   and 
holiness  and  tenderness  and  pity  and  sym- 
pathy and  charity  were   enthroned  and  in- 
vested with  the   prestige   that   comes  from 
succeeding.     They  failed  at  Athens  in  Soc- 
rates but   they  triumphed   in  Jerusalem   in 
Jesus   Christ.      Human   nature   was   digni- 

60 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

fied  and  ennobled  by  the  success  of  Christ 
at  Jerusalem.  He  showed  what  man  can 
be  and  do." » 

To  these  men  Jerusalem  had  come  to  be 
the  city  of  God  in  the  supreme  sense.     In 
the  earlier  days  it  had  been  a  capital  city  and 
a  royal  sanctuary.     Then  when  Samaria  was 
destroyed  and   local   sanctuaries  had   fallen 
into  disrepute  as  «  heathenish,"  the  claim  was 
made,   in   Deuteronomy,  that  there   is  one 
God  and  one  sanctuary.     When  this  claim 
was   most   vigorously  asserted   the  patriots 
were,  in  large  numbers,  torn  from  the  city 
and  sent  into  a  strange  land  to  learn  to  worship 
God  without  their  beloved  sanctuary.     But 
the   time  had   not  yet  come   for   men    to 
recognise   clearly    that   the    formula    "one 
God,"  rightly   understood,   means   that  the 
claims   of  rival  sanctuaries  fall  into  a  sub- 
ordinate  place,  become,  in  fact,  matters   of 
sentiment   and  not  of  essential  faith.     For 
the  Jew,  Jerusalem  must  remain,  in  a  special 
sense,  the  city  of  God,  the  Holy  City,  a  place 
where  men  are  nearer  to  God  than  elsewhere, 

^  See  Note,  p.  138. 
61 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

a  shrine  to  which  pilgrims  from  different 
lands  turn  with  strong  desire.  Such  glory 
and  prestige  Jerusalem  must  have  from  her 
own  children  when  what  we  call  an  unkindly 
fate,  but  which  by  faith  we  may  recognise  as 
a  wise  providence,  scattered  them  over  the 
world.  But  here  we  may  have  a  proof,  more 
than  four  centuries  before  the  coming  of  our 
Lord,  that  men  outside  the  sacred  circle 
longed  to  share  in  its  life.  This  longing  is 
regarded  by  the  prophet  as  a  gift  of  God  and 
as  prophetic  of  the  future  glory  of  His 
house.  Men  must  curb  their  fiery  patriotism 
and  chasten  their  sectarian  temper  that  the 
pious  longing  of  the  stranger  may  be  encour- 
aged, that  Jerusalem  may  accomplish  its  real 
destiny  by  becoming  a  house  of  prayer  for 
humanity.  Humanity  did  not  mean  to  him 
what  it  means  to  us,  but  we  may  truly  say 
that  the  spirit  of  universalism  was  struggling 
with  the  legal  barriers  behind  which  it  was 
born. 


62 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

2.  The  Nature  of  the  Fulfilment. 

Without    any    apologetic    discussion    of 
prediction  "  in  the  stricter  sense,  we  may 
say  that  this  hope  has  been  fulfilled.     The 
history  of  Jerusalem  is  one  of  the  strange 
things  m  this  wonderful  world.     It  does  not 
enter  into  competition  with  Rome  or  Athens 
It  belongs  to  a  different  order.     From  the 
time   that  David  made  it  the  capital  of  a 
nation  and  the  centre  of  its  religious  life,  it 
has  lived  in  the  full  light  of  history  and  has 
had  a  strangely  chequered   career.     It  has 
been  the  home  of  proud  patriots  and  fanatical 
zealots,  in  it  great  prophets  delivered  their 
message  and  met  their  fate.     The  halo  of 
legend  has  gathered  round  it ;   its  sorrows 
have  been  chanted  in  plaintive  tones  and  its 
glories   sung  in  simple   strains.     Round  its 
walls  fierce  batdes  have  been  fought,  and  in 
Its   streets   the   blood   and   tears    of    many 
nations  have  been  shed.     Nations  and  sects 
have   contended   for    its   sacred  places,  and 
pilgrims  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe 
have  wended  their  painful  way  thither.     The 

63 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

pilgrims  and  tourists  of  to-day,  who  attain 
their  goal  with  less  expenditure  of  personal 
toil,  can   see  that   much  commercialism   is 
mingled  with  all  this  display  of  devotion,  but 
they  can  surely  see  that  the  real  basis  of  the 
matter  is  not  in  these  vulgar  accretions  but 
in  an   idealising  of  historical   facts   and  a 
glorifying  of  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  past. 
There  is  danger  in  this,  but  it  is  not  without 
its   noble   features;  in  contending   for   the 
largeness  and  freedom  of  religious  thought 
we  must  still  remember  how  dependent  the 
great  majority  of  men  are  on  national  tradi- 
tion  and  local  sentiment.     Through   it  all, 
however,  this  is  clear,  that  representatives  of 
all  the  great  nations  of  the  world  do  now 
look  to  Jerusalem  as  spiritually  «  the  mother 
of  us   all,"  and  in   that  symbolic  sense  the 
city  has  become  a  house  of  prayer  for  all 
nations.^ 

Still  we  cannot  be  content  wi»-Ii  this  ;  there 

is  something  even  greater  than  the  romance 

that  lingers  round  this  strange  chapter  in  the 

world's   history,    something   in    comparison 

^  Gal.  iv.  26. 

64 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

with  which  all  that  the  visible  city  can  offer 
seems  mean  and  tawdry.     What  is  all  this, 
we  are  compelled  to  ask,  compared  with  all 
the    living   influences    that   have  gone  out 
into  the  world,  influences  which  refused  to  be 
bound  to  any  place  or  confined  to  any  one 
symbol.     We  must  then  seek  the  larger  ful- 
filment  in  the  realm  of  ideas.     The  prophets, 
especially   Isaiah   and  Jeremiah,   who   were 
deeply  attached  to  the  city,  protested  against 
the  undue  exaltation   of  altar  and   temple. 
Though  these  men  do  not  give  the  specific 
analysis  of  religious  ideas  that  we  expect  from 
a  modern  teacher,  their  words  imply  that  there 
IS  a  spiritual  reality  that  is  more  important 
than  the  outward  symbol.    As  a  matter  of  fact, 
that  which  has  made  Jerusalem  a  power  in 
the  world,  made  its  name  stand  for  the  ideal 
city,  and  surrounded  its  memory  with  such 
a  halo  of  sacred  associations  is  that  it  was 
the   home    of  great   teachers   and   martyrs 
messengers  of  God  who  bruised  theii  sensitive 
souls    against   its  ignorance,   prejudice,  and 
stupidity.     It  is  in  the  light  of  the  teaching 
of  those  noble  men  that  Jerusalem  is  viewed 
B  65 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

to-day  by  its  most  intelligent  admirers.  The 
actual  city  is  glorified  because  its  past  is 
viewed  in  an  ideal  light,  and  much  more 
because  it  has  become  the  centre  of  a 
large,  intellectual  world  that  has  grown 
out  of  the  ministry  of  its  great  men.  It 
18  the  teaching  that  was  too  great  for 
Jerusalem  that  has  made  the  name  of 
Jerusalem  great. 

3.  Other  Elements  in  the  Picture. 

One  of  the  things  insisted  upon  here  is  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  we  know  that 
at  the  time  of  the  Babylonian  exile,  and  later, 
this  institution  received  greater  emphasis  as 
a  religious  obligation  and  a  distinctive  feature 
of  Jewish  religion.     The  actual  origin  of  this 
institution  is  lost  in  the  dim  past,  but  after  all 
the  recent  discussions  we  can  still  say  that 
we  owe  the  Sabbath  to  the  Jews.     In  what 
rudimentary  form  it  may  have  existed  before 
their  time  is  uncertain.     In  our  Bible  we  can 
trace   a   distinct   movement  and   a    definite 
character.     In  our  Old  Testament  the  seven- 

66 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

c'    •   week   appears   and  Sabbaths  take  rank 
with    other    religious   festivals.*       In    later 
times  it  became  more  religious  and  ecclesi- 
astical ;   the   weekly  meeting  for  pr'.yer  on 
this  day  helped  to  keep  Judaism  aiive  in  a 
foreign  land.     In  still  later  times,  when  the 
fight  for  the  purity  of  the  Church  was  severe, 
the  strict  observance  of  the  Sabbath  became  a 
test  of  orthodoxy.   This  degenerated  into  hard 
legalism  and  petty  quib'^ling  until  it  called 
forth  the  protest  of  our  Lord.     The  condi- 
tions of  society  to-day  are  quite  different ;  it 
IS  impossible  to  have  a  total  cessation  of  the 
varied   activities  of  our  complex  life.     But 
our  larger  experience  has  shown  that  there  is 
in  this  institution  of  the  Sabbath  a  permanent 
truth.     It  is  easy  to  ridicule  the  extremes  of 
scrupulousness,  amounting   to   s.  perstition, 
that  have   been   manifested  in  this  regard,' 
more  especially  by  Jews  and  Scotsmen.     But 
a   much   more   profitable   exercise  of  one's 
powers   is   to   find   the  positive   truth   and 
uplifting  power  in  any  great  institution.     As 

67 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

the  account  of  creation  suggests,  the  need  of 
periodic  rest  is  not  a  mere  ceremonial  demand 
but  is  in  the  nature  of  things,  and  if  we  are 
better  than  sheep  and  goats  «  which  nourish 
a  blind  life  within  the  brain,"  worship  will  go 
along  with  rest.     While  we  maintain  freedom 
of  worship,   and   release  all   worship   from 
restraint  and   coercion,  it   is   clear   that  the 
community  is  better  for   a  day  of  rest;  it 
frees  many  from  the  drudgery  of  work,  the 
slavery  of  toil,  and  gives  to  all  who  enjoy  it 
the  opportunity   for   that  communion  with 
men  that  is  implied  in  the  public  worship  of 
God.      That   the    Sabbath,   notwithstanding 
the   controversies   surrounding  it,   and    the 
imperfections   attached  to  it,  has  helped  to 
free  men  from  the  bondage  of  materialism 
and    to    bring   them   to   a  closer   religious 
fellowship  can  scarcely  be  denied.     In  so  far 
as  this  is  true  it  has  been  a  religious  force. 

But  the  main  element  is  the  creation 
of  a  book.  At  a  time  when  the  Jews 
expected  the  temple  to  be  permanent  they 
were  unconsciously  preparing  the  way  for  a 
religion  that  could  live   without  it.     When 

68 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

the  temple  was  lost  for  a  while  during  the 
Babylonian   exile,   the   men   who  preserved 
their  religious  loyalty  were  thrown  back  upon 
the  Sabbath  worship  and  thr    rudy   of  the 
book.     The  result  of  this  was  that  when  six 
centuries  later  the  temple  met  its  final  fate, 
by  the  influence  of  the  s,-iool  and  the  posi- 
tion assigned  to  religious  tcachors  the  rel  f/ion 
was  in  no  danger  of  perishing      Men  missed 
the  temple,  they  mourned  o\er  the  desolation 
of  Jerusalem,    but   for    them    liie   problem 
"How  can   we   sing  Jehovah's   son^  i.  a 
foreign  land  ?  "  had  been  solved     T'-,"  Nook 
had  become  a  bigger  thing  than  the    ctnplc. 
The  temple  is  local  and  fixed  ;  the  be- !:  ,.u. 
become  universal  by  means  of  its  free  move- 
ment    Men  must  travel  to  the  temple  and 
learn  its  language,  but  the  book  goes  out  to 
meet  men  and  speaks  to  each  man  in  his  own 
tongue.     May  we  not  say  that  the  Jews  of 
the  restored  temple,  gathering  together  their 
devotional  literature  for  use  in  their  house  of 
prayer  and  in  their  daily  life,  helped  to  make 
that  house  "The  House  of  Prayer"  for  all 
nations  in  a  different  and  a  larger  sense  than 

69 


it. 


y'i  '  *^ 


f 

r       ( 


m 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

they  themselves  dreamed  of?     In  doing  this 
they   created    something   greater    than    any 
temple,  a  prayer  book  for  humanity  that  has 
exerted  an  influence  on  all  Christian  liturgies 
and  that  is  more  and  more  appealing  to  the 
heart    of    the  world.      These   psalms    and 
prayers  were,  no  doubt,  much  more  influenced 
by  local   struggles   and  sectional  difl^erences 
than   now  appears ;    we  must  in   their  case 
allow  something  for  the  softening  influence 
of  time  ;   the   small  human   entanglements 
tend  to  fall  away,  as  they  recede  into  the 
distance  of  the  past,  and  the  large  universal 
elements  are  free   to  do  their  p^hle  work. 
Here  everything  is  turned  into  ac motion  and 
becomes  a  matter  of  prayer.     Prayer,  which 
does  not  rest  on  mere  command  but  rather 
on   deep-seated   instinct  and  pressing  need, 
here  becomes  vocal  and  finds  classic  expres- 
sion.     Nature,  history,  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity and  its  particular  members,  all  these 
varied  regions  of  life  are  brought  within  the 
range  of  prayer.     It  is  true  that  there  are 
psalms  in  praise  of  « the  law  "  in  the  ecclesi- 
astical sense,  for  how  could  that  great  realm 

70 


Universal  House  of  Prayer 

of  Jewish   life   be   neglected   In  a  book  of 
"common  prayer,"  but  it  is  in  this  book  that 
we  learn  that  there  is  in  this  religion  some- 
thing deeper  and  richer  than  external  legisla- 
tion and  ritual  requirements.     Here  a  rich 
streaia  of  spiritual  life  flows  freely,  reminding 
us  that  seekers  after  God  in  all  ages  and 
churches  have  much   in  common.     In  that 
temple  of  humanity  that  is  not  bounded  by 
any  sectarian  walls,  these  songs  and  prayers 
rise  continually  to  heaven.     The  passionate 
cry  »  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God  " »  cannot  be 
completely  met  by  any  symbol  but  only  by 
the  presence  of  God  Himself,  and  «  He  being 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  dwelleth  not  in 
temples  made  with  hands."* 

>P«.xIii.  a.  «Act8xvii.»4. 


71 


V. 


THE  CITY  OF  THE  EVER-OPEN 
DOOR. 


Isaiah   LX.  ii,  12. 

Deutero-Isaiah,  the  great  prophet  of  con- 
solation, speaks  in  glowing  language  of 
Zion's  future  glory.^  In  this  later  section 
of  the  book,  probably  written  by  a  disciple, 
the  richest  imagery  is  used  to  set  forth  the 
splendour  of  the  chosen  city — 

"  Arise,  shine ;  for  thy  light  is  come, 
And  the  glory  of  Jehovah  is  risen  upon  thee. 
For,  behold,  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth, 
And  gross  darkness  the  peoples ; 
But  Jehovah  shall  arise  upon  tliee. 
And  His  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee. 
And  nations  shall  come  to  thy  light, 
And  kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising." 


»xlix.  i4fF.;  lii.  iff.  J  liv.  1-7. 
72 


City  of  the  EveMpen  Door 

It  is  weU  for  us,  when  we  are  inclined  to 
cnncse  too  severely  the  material  forms  that 
these   promises  assume,   to   bear  in   mind 
what  such  passages  distinctly  assert,  that  i 

the  hght  of  Jehovah's  presence  that  give 
s^ength  and  beauty,  supremacy  and  atL- 

T:  !u  ^'  f  "^'"^i-y-  There  is  the  faith 
that  the  God  who  dwells  in  heaven  mu  t 
have  a  c.ty  on  earth,  in  order  to  reveal  Him- 
se.f  to  mankmd  and  for  the  Jew  this  city 
must  be  Jerusalem.  There  is,  we  must 
adm.t,  mde  of  the  missionary  'sp^u  hTre 
the  most  exclusive  Jews  might  adopt  this' 
gorgeous  apo^Iyptic  imagery.  But  there  is 
a  blending  of  fine  ethical  elements,  and  after 

i'resence.      The  gold  of  the  nations,   the 
treasures  of  the  sea.  the  obsequious  ministry 

hat  heavenly  hght  which  makes  the  walls  of 
Jem^lem   to   be   Salvation   and    her  gates 

"lMt«d  of  bra..  I  will  bring  in  gold, 
I«ead  of  iron  I  „i„  fc^ng  i„  .i|,„, 

And  I  wUl  appoint  a.  thy  gomnraent  Peac, 

7,1 


*?3P9i».*>vrw 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

And  M  thy  dnpot  Righteousness. 

No  more  shall  violence  be  heard  of  in  thy  land. 
Nor  rapine  md  ruin  within  thy  borders; 
But  thou  Shalt  call  thy  walls  Deliverance, 

And  thy  gates  Renown. 

No  more  shall  the  sun  be  thy  ligh^ 
Nor  the  moon  for  brightness  illuminate  thee; 
But  Jehovah  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light. 

And  thy  God  thy  beauty. 

Thy  sun  shall  set  never  more 

And  thy  moon  shall  not  wane; 
But  Jehovah  sjiall  be  thine  everlasting  light, 

And  thy  days  of  mourning  be  ended."! 

It  was  not  the  size,  the  political  power, 
the  commercial  splendour,  of  Jerusalem  that 
inspired  such  high  hopes  and  dazzling  dreams, 
but  the  belief  that  here  was  the  city  of  God 
the  dwelling-place  of  the  Most  High.     That 
belief  was  certainly  living,  even  if  it  at  times 
mamfested  itself  in  coarse,  narrow  forms  •  it 
nerved  men   to   fight  heroic  battles  and  it 
inspired  steady  service  in  dull  prosaic  times. 
This  enthusiasm  has  been  contagious,  it  has 
passed   outside  of  national   boundaries  and 
created  a   world-ideal-a  symbol  which  no 
earthly  city  can  completely  ftilfil. 

*  Revised  translation  by  G.  H.  Box. 
74 


City  of  the  Ever-open  Door 

I.  The  Truth  in  the  Poetry. 

There  is  sober  truth  in  this  poetic  utter- 
ance which  the  world  has  acknowledged    The 
central  truth  is  that  Judaism  had  a  real  con 
tribution  to  make  to  th.   life  of  the  world 
something  of  spiritual  quality  and   abiding 
significance.      The   presence    of    God     the 
divine  light,  has  indeed  gone  forth  from'  that 
city.     The  religion  and  the   literature,  the 
gift  of  God  and  the  growth  of  centuries,  has 
not  yet  done  its  work,  and  the  work  that  it 
has  done  can  never  be  forgotten.     We  refuse 
to  be  confined  to  the  measurements  of  those 
days  and  those  men  ;  we  who  can  view  the 
whole  movement  are  justified    in   seeing  a 
meaning  in  their  work  that  vindicates  their 
extravagant    language    and    exultant   tones. 
They  grasped  something  for  themselves,  some- 
thing that  on  certain  conditions  they  were  will- 
ing to  share  with  others.     We  cannot  justly 
reproach  them,  because  the  spirit  of  privilege 
and  monopoly  still  reigns  in  us  ;  but  we  can 
see  clean'y  that  what  gave  strength  to  their 
vision  was  not  the  human  weakness  that  was  in 

75 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

it  but  the  fact  that  they  gave  the  central  place 
to  God  and  believed  that  what  comes  from 
God  the  world  needs  and  will  want  to  share » 
It  IS  not  simply  that  they  despise  the  small 
gods  of  the  heathen  but  that  they  have,  even 
in  a  small  way,  grasped  the  thought  that  the 
light  and  glory  of  the  true  God  is  an  attrac- 
tive, unifying  force. 

We  need  not  dwell  on  the  fact  that  the 
hope  with  .regard  to  Jerusalem  received  a 
literal   fulfilment';  this  city  whose   history 
IS    a   series   of   tragedies,   whose   changeful 
career  is  one  long  story  of  subjection  and 
destruction,  has  conquered  a  large  place  in  the 
world.     In   spite  of  past   sorrows  and   the 
tawdry  glory  of  the  present,  men  see  in  her 
the  symbol  of  the  unconquerable  kingdom 
No  City  has  called   forth  a  more  stubborn 
hercrsn.,  a  more  persistent  devotion,  a  more 
poetic  enthusiasm.     Men  would  fain  give  to 
Jerusalem  great  treasure  if  they  knew  how 
because   they  are   convinced    that    she   has' 
given    much   to   the  world.     The  glory  of 
Jerusalem  was  not  visible  in  the  dark  days 
1  P8.  xlviii.  2,  and  pp.  33,  54.  3  See  also  p.  62. 


City  of  the  Ever-open  Door 

when  these  words  were  written  :  it  was  an 
ideal,  a  creation,  of  faith.  It  was  never  lon^ 
sustained  in  actual  reality,  yet  men  have  feft 
that  in  some  strange  way  this  was  a  city  of 
faith  and  of  the  faithful.  The  wealth  that 
men  could  give  faded,  spoiled  by  factions  or 
scattered  by  ruthless  conquerers,  but  the 
wealth  of  tradition  and  faith  could  not  be 
destroyed. 


2. 


The  Imperfection  op  the  Message. 

There  is  to  many  of  us  to-day  something 
distinctly  irritating  in  this  class  of  passages  ; 
while  we  admire  them  as  literature  and  as 
poetic  outbursts  of  patriotic  feeling,  we  find 
them  to  be  poor  and  limited  from  the  theo- 
logical point  of  view.     We  think  that  the 
Jew,  instead  of  learning  humility^  from  the 
teaching  of  the  prophets  and  the  sorrows  of 
his  nation,  has  become  narrow  and  arrogant, 
and   imagines  that  he,  as  the   favourite  of 
heaven,  is  to  enjoy  permanent  privilege  and 
superiority.     It  seems  the  height  of  spiritual 
*  Micah  vi.  8. 

77 


$ 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

pride,  this  idea  that  all  the  glories  of  heaven 
and  earth,  the  treasures   of  sea  and   land, 
are    to   be   tributary   to  Jerusalem.      That 
foreigners  are  to  be  the  slaves  of  the  Jews 
doing  their  menial  work,  that  strange  people 
will  lick  the  dust  before  them  and  kings  bow 
reverently   in    their  presence—these   proud 
hopes  are  revolting  to  our  sense  of  Christian 
gentleness,  even  when  regarded  as  homage  to 
a  great  God  and  a  priestly  nation.*     All  this 
must  be  frankly  admitted,  and  we  must  ac- 
knowledge that  it  has  done  harm,  because  the 
Bible   has  so   long  been  read  without  any 
sense   of   historical   perspective.     There   is 
however,  much  useful   instruction   here ;  it 
reminds  us  of  the  real  nature  of  this  great 
literature.     This  Book  of  God  is  also  a  book 
of  man  ;  its  real  glory  and  strength  lies  in 
the  fact  that  it  is  not  a  mere  list  of  laws  or 
catalogue  of  abstract  doctrines,  all  its  greatest 
ideas  are  woven  into  the  texture  of  human 
life— a  life  that  through  long,  rude  struggles 
was  raised  to  sublime  heights. 

The  Christian  Church,  as  the  successor  of 
1  xlix.  23  ;  Ixi.  5. 

78 


City  of  the  Ever-open  Door 

Judaism,  has  enjoyed  much  worldly  success 
.t  conquered  barbarians  and  ruled  the  civilised 
nations.     It,  great  temples  still  excite  our 
wonder  and  stir  our  reverence.     The  priests 
have  trod  upon  the  necks  of  kings  and  exer- 
csed  a  power  mightier  than  the  sword.    At 
one  penod  all  the  treasures  of  the  world,  the 
g.ft,  of  ,ts  science  and  arts,  were  poured  into 
the  lap  of  a  luxurious  Church.     Ecclesiastics 
might  pomt  to  these  scriptures  as  a  justifica- 
tion of  their  demands  and  claim  the  course 

hour  of  such  success  there  were  many  noble 
souls  who  saw  clearly  that  the  highest  life  of 
the  Church  was  not  in  these  things,  but  in 
the  preaching  of  pure  truth,  in  the  care  of 
the  weak  the  ministry  to  the  ignorant  and 
poor ;  and  the  world  has  now  distinctly  re- 
jected  the  ideal   of  ecclesiastical    rule   and 
pnesdy  monopoly.     We  do   well    to  reject 
these  outward    forms,   but    mere    negative 
criticism  and  refined  sarcasm  will  not  suffice  • 
theonly  way   in  which   we  can    supersede 
them  IS  by  having  the  same  truth  in  a  nobler 
expression.     I„   some   higher  way  religion 

79 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

must  be  supreme  and  the  temple  central  in 
the  life  of  man.     But  the  missionary  effort 
cannot,  and  will  not,  wait  until  the  perfect 
nation  and  the  pure  messengers  are  found. 
When  men  tell  us  to  leave  the  heathen  alone 
and  cleanse  ourselves  from  pride,  greed,  and 
hypocrisy,  their  message  should  be  accepted 
but  not  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  given! 
We  welcome  the  reminder  that  our  mission- 
ary effort  Involves   an  obligation  to  purify 
our  own   personal    and    social    life,   but   it 
may   be  that  the  desire  and  hope  of  send- 
ing  out  the  truth  is  also  a  God-appointed 
way  to   uplift  our  own  life.'     The  way  in 
which   the  Jew   held    himself   in   the    face 
of  a    hostile    world    attracted     the     fierce 
criticism    of    foreigners,   but   it   also    drew 
attention    to    a    faith    that   could   challenge 
the     world's    scrutiny   and   respect.     Thus 
while    we    acknowledge    the    limitation    of 
this  great  hope  and   reject   its   literal   form 
as   temporary,    it    may   give    us   the    spirit 
of  humility   to    remember   that   it   is   only 
by  the  lessons  that   come  to  us   from  cen- 
^  Cf.  p.  35. 
80 


City  of  the  Ever-open  Door 

turics  of  Christian  history  that  we  arc 
able  to  make  this  rejection  in  an  intelli- 
gent  fashion. 


3.  Thb  Light  of  Hebrew  History. 

Suppose  we   turn  upon  this  passage  the 
light  of  history   drawn  from  the  study  of 
that  ancient  nation  and  seen  in  the  larger 
view  of  it  that  is  now  possible  to  the  careful 
student     "The  open  door"  may  then  be 
shown  to  mean  something  that  was  hidden 
from  the  view  of  this  prophet.     He  wished 
that   the  door  of  the  Church  should  stand 
ever  open  to  receive  tribute;  that  was  his 
way  of  expressing  the  ideas,  God  is  supreme, 
religion   is  central,   the   Church    is    divine. 
Unless  we  interpret  his  imagery  as  a  noble 
symbolism,  the  ideas  behind  it   lose  some- 
thing ot  their  purity  by    being  clothed  in 
forms  of  this  world's  wealth.     Possibly  he 
did  not  see  that  this  policy  of  the  open  door 
had  been    the   divine   method   all    through. 
Recently  there  has  been  much  discussion  as 
to  how  much  Israel  owes  to  Egypt,  Babylon 
'  81 


Mictoconr  resolution  test  chart 

(ANSI  and  ISC  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


1.0 


I.I 


114 


■  12 

MIA 

■  4.0 


22 
1.8 


^  APPLIED  IIVMGE     Inc 

S^  '653   East   Moin  Street 

S'.S  Rochester.   Ne«  York         U609       USA 

'■^S  (716)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

sag  (716)   288  -  5989  -  Fox 


in- 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

Canaan,   Persia,    and    Greece.      These    .„- 
quiries  and  debates  are  natural  in  an  age  like 
ours,  when  men  of  science  are  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  origin  of  all  forms  of  life  and 
the  nature  of  its  development.     Sometimes 
there  has  been  lack  of  "academic  calmness" 
on  the  one  side  and  the  other ;  the  proud 
claims  on  behalf  of  Israel  as  an  organ  of 
divine   revelation   seem    to    act  as   a  chal- 
lenge and  an  irritant  on  the  minds  of  some 
thinkers,  while  zealous   defenders  of  those 
claims  have  not  been  lacking.     Those  who 
examine  this  great  literature  carefully  know 
that  whatever  has  been  borrowed  has  been 
amply  repaid   with   abundant  interest.      In 
fact  they  know  that  "borrowing"  is  a  phrase 
too  crude  and  mechanical  to  express  the  com- 
plex   process.      The    Hebrews    conquered 
Canaan,  but  they  absorbed  much  of  its  spirit 
and  atmosphere  ;  they  rejected  Baal  worship, 
but  claimed  that  Jehovah  was  the  giver  of 
the  fruits  of  the  earth ;»  they   refused   to 
worship    the    star-gods    of    Babylonia   and 
claimed  that  their  God  ruled  the  stars.*     In- 

»  Ho8.  H.  15,  16.  s  Isa.  xl.  26;  xlvii.  ix. 

82  ^ 


City  of  the  Ever-open  Door 

fluences   from   Persia  and   Greece  were  no 
doubt  treated  in  the  same  way.     Thus  the 
Hebrew  faith  was  not  an  empty  monotheism 
or  a  system  of  abstract  doctrines.     All  realms 
on  earth  and  air,  in  sea  and  sky,  and  in  the 
lands  beneath  the  earth,  were  gradually  an- 
nexed to  Jehovah's  dominion,  until  the  God 
of  the  fathers  was   the   God  of  the  whole 
world.*     Much  of  this  process,  like  all  the 
great  movements  of  life,  was  unknown   to 
those  in  the  midst  of  it ;  they  were  not  in 
a  position  to  survey  the  past  or  to  analyse  the 
present.     But  when  they  claimed  the  world 
for  their  God  there  was  the  weight  of  cen- 
turies   of  throbbing  life   behind   them.     It 
was  because  they  were  both  exclusive  and 
receptive  that  they  grew  to  be  so  great  in 
their  own  realm.     There  was  a  catholicity  in 
their  thinking,  though  they  did  not  fully  ap- 
preciate its  logical  consequences.     What  they 
took  they  cleansed  and  uplifted.     When  they 
came  to  write  the  history  ot  their  race  they 
fitted  it  as  best  they  could  into  the  general 
framework    of   the    world's    life.      Simple 
*  Cf.  p.  25, 
83 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

stories  from  the  past  and  strange  beliefs  in 
the  present  were  treated  from  the  point  of 
view  that  there  is  one  God,  and  that  God  is 
the  God  revealed  in  *he  history  of  the  nasi 
and  the  hfe  of  the  present.     The  whole  con- 
ception was,  if  not  a  missionary  idea,  then  the 
root  of  all  missionary  ideas,  when  the  time 
should  come  for  a  fuller  understanding  of  it 
We  do  not  say  that  this  writer,  claiming  a 
central  position  for  the  temple,  had  all  this 
m  view,  but  we  maintain  that  in  estimating 
the  value  and  importance  of  his  position  we 
must  take   these  things  into  consideration. 
To  him,  at  least,  the  idea  of  God  is  central, 
and   from   God-s  ownership   of  the  world 
there    comes    aU    this  glorification  of   the 
temple.     To  some  extent  the  gold,  silver, 
and  precious  stones  are  the  mere  furniture 
or   drapery  of  the  faith.     He  also   w-^uld 
have  said,  "Seek  Jehovah  first,  trust  Him, 
serve  H.m  in  noble  fellowship,  and  He  wil 
take  care  of  the  temple  and  of  you." 


84 


City  of  the  Ever-open  Door 


4.  Our  Lesson  from  the  I 


DEA. 


When    we    are    thus    allowed    in    some 
measure  to  enlarge  and  transform  the  idea 
by  holding  it  in  the  light  of  Hebrew  history, 
its  applications  for  ourselves  become  clear! 
The  time,  we  know,  has  gone  by  for  any  one 
Christian  temple  in  East  or  West  to  mon- 
opolise power  and  rule  all  life,  even  within  a 
.mall  area.     Men  are  beginning  to  see  that 
this  is  not  the  highest  kind  of  dominion. 
The  appropriate  lesson  from  this  text  refers 
to  the  attitude  of  the  Church  towards  the 
great   outside   world.      The    doors   of   the 
temple   should   stand   open    to   receive   the 
world's  gifts,  and  its  windows  open  for  the 
fresh    breeze.      But    we   must   conceive   of 
these  gifts  in   a   large,   liberal  spirit ;  they 
are  gifts  not  only  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
building  and   the  support  of  the  ministrv, 
but  also  for  the  fabric  of  our  thought,  the 
form  and  even  the  content  of  our  theology. 
The  supreme  act  of       ,h  is  to  believe  that 
God  is  in  all  our  world,  the  guide  of  the 
living  present.     Organisation  we  must  have 

85 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

definite    forms     of    worship    and     regular 
methods  of  communion,  but       -se  must  be 
concerned  with  the  problems  cr  the  present 
and  not  with  the  preservation  of  « the  crust 
of  custom  "  that  comes  from  the  past.     It  is 
because  custom  was  broken  down  by  con- 
tact with  foreign  influences  and  new  social 
forces   that  the  prophets   had   to  give  new 
messages  as  to   the  nature  of  religion  and 
mc.ality.     These  messages  have  proved  to 
be  permanent  in  their  spiritual  power,  but 
their  form  must   be  adapted  to  meet  new 
needs.     Science  and  art  bring  to  the  nations 
new  revelations  and  new  powers,  these  breed 
new   monopolies   and   slaveries.     It    is   the 
province  of  Christianity  to  care  for  the  free- 
ing of  the  slave,  not  only  the  distant  foreign 
slave  but  the  slave  under  the  shadow  of  our 
own  churches.     The  inspiration  that  comes 
to  us  from  the  great  prophets  of  the  past 
and  especially   from   the  life  of  the   Christ 
must  give  stimulus  to  new  forms  of  service 
The  world  must  be  claimed  for  God  in  a 
broader  and  higher  sense.     New  movements 
of  thought  that  may  seem  at  first  to  be  quite 

86  ^ 


City  of  the  Ever-open  Door 

alien  may,  on  closer  examination,  be  found 
to  express  an  earnest  effort  to  embody  the 
-^Id   truths   in   a   larger   form.      The  social 
message  of  the  Old  Testament  and  its  sug- 
gestions  of  a  universal   faith  await  a  richer 
fulfilment.     When  we  speak  of  the  Christian 
religion  as  the  highest,  the  absolute,  or  final 
religion  we  surely  cannot  be  thinking  of  the 
scholastic  theology  of  a  particular  period,  but 
rather  of  the  spirit  of  freedom  in  it  which 
because  of  its  noble   thought  of  God   the 
leather,  gives  power  of  assimilating  all  real 
gains  from  the  thoughts  of  keen  searchers 
after  truth,   all   living    ideas    that  are  not 
opposed   to    its   central   principle.     Not   to 
some    distant    future  must    we    defer  the 
picture  of  a  new  Jerusalem  whose  pilgrims 
come  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth.^ 
Each  church,  while  faithful  to  its  own  noblest 
traditions,  must   seek   to   be  an   institution 
that  IS  open  to  all  sources  of  light  and  life 
that  receives  from   the  world  rich  treasures 
and  consecrates  them  to  the  service  of  the 
sanctuary.      Such    a   sanctuary   will   receive 
^Lukexiii.  29;   Rev.  xxi.  24,  25. 
37 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

only  that  it  may  give  back  again  ;  it  will 
seek  to  place  the  stamp  of  heaven's  treasury 
on  much  that  we  are  tempted  to  regard  as 
earthly  coin  ;  it  will  seek  to  breathe  into  all 
forms  of  human  service  a  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  devotion,  so  that  nothing  that 
relates  to  human  welfare  can  be  regarded  as 
common  and  unclean.  Only  thus  can  the 
words  be  fulfilled— 

"The  Lord  shall  arise  upon  thee, 

And  Hit  glory  shall  be  seen  upon  thee." 


88 


VI. 

THE  KINGDOM  THAT  SURVIVES 
THE  SHAKING  OF  THE  WOKLD 

Hacoai  II.  6-8;    Hebrew,  XII.  26,  27. 

When  we  place  these  two  passages  side  by 
side,    whose    origin    is    separated    by   five 
centuries  of  time,  we  are  reminded  of  the 
fact   that   within    the   Bible  itself   we   have 
vaned   stages   of  thought.     We   constantly 
speak  of     a  progressive  revelation  "  (Heb  i 
0,  but  we  need  to  realise  more  fully  what 
this  means  in  the  details  of  the  actual  thought 
and  1:  e.     In  other  words,  we  need  to  remem- 
ber tnat  the  Bible  is  not  "a  book  "in  the 
narrow  sense  of  that  word  but  a  literature  in 
he  full  sense  of  the  term.     We  have  a  collec- 
tion of  books  that  came  into  existence  under 
varied  circumstances  and  at  widely  separated 
periods  of  time  ;  consequently,  in  that  which 
IS  to  us  now  «t;,e  volume   of  the  book,"^ 

^  Ps.  xl.  7  ;  Heb.  X.  7. 
89 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

we  have  original  statements,  and  then  the 
later    interpretations    and    transformations^ 
A   striking  word   is   taken   from    the   past, 
lifted  into  a  larger  atmosphere,  and  given  a 
nobler  meaning.     This  is  true  even   within 
the  Old  Testament  itself,  and  this  statement 
IS  more  richl-  illustrated  in  the  New  Testa- 
men^  where  tne  specific  claim  is  made  that 
the  New  is  not  a  contradiction  or,  but  an 
enlargement  and  fulfilment  of,  the  Old.    The 
Old  Testament  is  rightly  called  «a  prophetic 
book,    and  is  said  to  contain  "the  missionary 
Idea      because  there  is  so  much  in  it  that 
refuses   to   be    bound   down   to   any   mere 
local  significance.     Its  noble  inconsistencies 
i^howthe  struggle  of  the  truth  to  reach  forth 
into  the  common  life  of  humunity. 

I.  A  Pathetic  Note. 

This  is  seen  in  the  phrase  "yet  once,  it  is 

a  little  while  "  or  "yet  once  more  "  ;  if  we 

consider   it   carefully  and    in  a  sympathetic 

spirit  we  cannot  fail  to  find  in  it  a  reflection 

»2  Sam.  vH.  8-16;  Isa.  Iv.  3,4. 

90 


The  Kingdom  that  S 


urvives 


<•  ii  liic  in  its  varied  moods.     We  have 

here  ...e  mightiest  power  that  stirs  the  human 
spirit,  the  power  of  faith,  the  faith  tha    guins 
the  victory  over  the  world.     But  is  there  not 
in  it  also  the  human  weakness  that  craves  for 
finahty  and  longs  to  see  the  problem  of  the 
world-process  solved  by  one  sudden  mighty 
stroke  ?    This  man  knew  of  great  shakings 
in  the  not  distant  past :  the  fall  of  Nineveh, 
the  defeat  of  Egypt,  the  des'.  -uction  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  conquest  of  Babylon.     Through 
all  these  convulsions  his  nation  had  lived  and 
suffered.     Those  now  left  in  Jerusalem  are  a 
small  remnant,  a  few  struggling,  discouraged 
patriots,  but  in  this  day  of  .mall  things  they 
still  believed  that   God   had  brought  them 
throu^     these  terrible  shakings  in  order  to 
prepare  tl:em  for  a  noble  future.    This  was  a 
splendid  faith,  and  in  a  real  sense  history  has 
justified  it.     We  who  have  the  lai^er  view 
are  net  necessarily  greater  men  ;  the  prophet, 
in  his  own  way,  rose  above  the  world,  while 
we  may  be  allowing  it  to  crush  us.    He  looked 
for  one  more  great  shaking,  when  th.  i  strug- 
gling Jerusalem  would  become  the  centre    f 

91 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

the  world,  when  admiring  nations,  overawed 
by  Jehovah's  power,  would  bring  into  this 
sanctuary  the  world's  precious  things,  the 
silver  and  the  gold  ;  then  would  the  temple 
abide  for  evermore  in  strength,  splendour,  and 
attractiveness.*  These  external  gifts  would  be 
a  symbol  of  a  rich  community  of  life. 

This  prophecy  did  receive  a  certain  measure 
jf  literal  fulfilment ;  it  is  not  pure  fancy  but 
rests  on  sober  fact.     The  judgment  that  we 
have   now   concerning   the   narrowness  and 
limitation  of  the  prophet's  outlook  must  not 
blind  us  to  the  truth  and  value  of  his  state- 
ment.    The   building   of  that   temple,   the 
piety  and  loyalty  of  that  small  community, 
was  a  thing  of  significance  for  the  world. 
That  is  not  a  sectarian  verdict ;  it  is  based 
upon  a  large  review  of  those  varied  and  subtle 
forces  that  have  built  up  the  complex  fabric 
of  modern  states  and  churches.     The  Jews 
clung   with    stubborn  determination  to  the 
task  of  restoring  their  city  and  building  their 
temple  until  this  became  the  centre  of  political 
and  religious  life,  a  rallying  point  for  patriotic 

» Cf.  p.  78. 
92 


The  Kingdom  that  Survives 

Israelites    scattered    throughout   thr   world. 
The  result  was  that  the  temple,  which  was  a 
bank  as  well  as  a  church,  received  contribu- 
tions from  the  faithful  to  such  an  extent  that, 
once  more,  it  became  a  rich  storehouse  of 
worldly  wealth.     Even  in  this  stage  of  the 
history  we  learn   that  the  gold,  silver,  and 
"  desirable  things  "  are  not  the  real  wealth  of 
the  Church.     These  things  encourage      the 
worldly  spirit  among  the  priests  and  excited 
greed  among  foreigners,  so  ihat  in  the  second 
century  b.c,  Syrian  Icings  and  generals  came 
to  Jerusalem  not  to  worship'    but  for  the 
express  purpose  of  robbing  the  temple.     The 
silver  and  gold  did  not  save  the  Church  but 
rather  helped  rorward  its  ruin.     The  Syrian 
tyrant  could  steal  the  money  but  he  could 
not  destroy  the  faith.     The  living  ideas  of 
trust  in  God  and  loyalty  to  the  Law  were  more 
powerful  than  gold  or  the  sword.     The  faith 
proved  itself  to  be  indestructible,  the  material 
forces,  here  as  elsewhere,  crumbled  to  decay. 
The  same  fact  is  illustrated  by  the  life  that 
gathered  round  the  temple  in  still  later  time, 

^  Acts  viii.  27. 

93 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

when  our  Lord  drove  out  the  money-changers, 
and  declared  that  the  house  of  prayer  had 
been   transformed   into  a   den   of  thieves » 
The  vision  of  material  splendour  had  been  to 
some  extent  fulfilled,  but  the  prophetic  ideal 
was  realised  not  in  the  majesty  of  the  temple 
but  m  the  life  of  the  lowly  Nazarene.     The 
wealth  of  the  temple  and  the  fknatical  rever- 
ence that  men  had  for  it  availed  little  in  the 
day  of  judgment  when  the  might  of  Rome 
was  concentrated  on  the  doomed  city.     But, 
after  all,  how  little  was  lost  in  the  great  cat' 
astrophe  that  seemed  to  so  many  to  be  the  end 
of  the  world.     The  religion  had  learned  to 
live  without  the  temple ;  the  faith  was  free  to 
go  forth  and  assume  larger  and  nobler  forms. 

2.  A  Larger  Interpretation  of  the 
Text. 

The  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 

belongs  to  this  later  time,  when  the  nations  of 

that  ancient  world  had  been  drawn    nearer 

together  and   the   shaking  must    be   more 

»l8a.  Ivi.  7}  Matt.  xxi.  13. 

94 


The  Kingdom  that  Survives 

complex  in  character.    The  temple  had  passed 
through  its  last  great  tragedy  and  the  evangel- 
ists of  the  Cross  were  proclaiming  their  great 
message.    This  writer  claims  that  Christianity 
is  heir  to  all  that  was  really  of  permanent  value 
in  the  older  system.     That  is  regarded  as 
preparatory,  symbolic,  and  temporary ;  those 
who,  by  faith,  have  grasped  the  unseen  ideas, 
can  live  without  those  visible  forms  which  in 
their  day  were  rich  in  prophetic  power.   From 
this  point  of  view  he  feels  justified  in  giving 
a  larger  interpretation  to  the  ancient  word. 
To  him   the   shaking  does   not  mean  the 
material   enrichment   of  the   temple.      His 
vision  is  not  the  picture  of  a  restored  and 
glorified  temple  with  its  doors  ever  open  to 
receive   the   treasures  of  the  world.      The 
purpose  of  the  shaking  is  that  the  external 
temporary  things  may  be  cast  off  and  the 
abiding  truth  more  clearly  revealed.     There 
are  things  which,  by  their  very  nature,  cannot 
be  shaken,  and  the  man  who  lays  hold  of 
them  has  a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved. 
This   man,   no   doubt,   helped  many  timid 
wavering  souls,  and  he  still  cheers  and  inspires 

95 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

L\l^  '!;%''°"''"'  of  h«  faith.     Probably 
he  also  had  h.s  moments  of  doubt ;  it  was 
certamly  not  without   a   struggle     hat   he 
reached  this  lofty  height  and  wfabt  in 
world  of  change,  to  look  out  with  calm  confi- 
dence and  claim  to  have  received  a  kingdom 
that  cannot  be  moved.     In  these  restless  days 
we  may  be  disposed  to  envy  him  his  simple 
fa.th.     But  when  we  look  a  little  closer  we 
■nay  see  that  it  is  not  a  simple  faith  in  any 
shallow  sense  ;   it  is  a  faith   that  possesses 
high,  mtellectual  qualities,  it  seeks  to  rein- 
erpret  h.story  and  to  face  aU  the  new  problems 
m  the  hght  of  knowledge  that  is  inspired  but 
notenslaved  by  the  great  teachings  of  the  past.' 
We  talk  much  in  our  time  about  living  in 
a  time  of  change  when  faith  is  tested  by  the 
demands  of  a  larger  view  of  the  world.     But 
■t   .s  well  to   remember  that   even  in   this 
regard  no  strange  thing  has  happened  to  us  • 
the  prophets  of  the  earlier  ages  had  a  simila; 
experience     "How  can  we  sing  the  Lord's 
song  m  th.s  foreign  land  ? "  is  not  a  new 
question  ;  it  has  often  been  wrung  from  the 

^  See  Chapter  I. 
96 


The  Kingdom  that  Survives 

hearts  of  men  who  wished  to  reconcile  the 
past  and  the  present,  who  desired  in  new 
circumstances  to  be  loyal  to  the  old  truth. 
We  know  that  Jews  and  Christians  have  felt 
this  most  keenly,  in  the   living  periods  of 
their  history,  because,  while  they  clung  to  a 
sacred  past,   they   had  a   faith   that   looked 
forward    for  still   richer  revelations   of  the 
divine  kingdom.     There  are  in  such  crises 
three  courses  open  to  the  individual  believer. 
These  three  pathways  were  followed  by  men 
in  the   Babylonian    exile   in   essentially  the 
same  spirit  as   men  follow  them    to-day  in 
Judaism  or   Christianity,     (i)  A   man  may 
lose  his  theology  or  his  faith  or  both.     He 
may  fall  away  from  his  trust   in  God    and 
declare   that   life   has    become   meaningless. 
Men  who  cannot  receive  the  new  light^  feel 
that  the  change  is  all  loss  ;   God  has  gone 
away  with  the  ancient  form,  and  for  them 
there  is  no  new  vision.     (2)  Others  cling  to 
their   old   faith    and   cherish   a  still   deeper 
loyalty  for  the  forms  of  the  past.     That  is 
surely  better  tlian   the  utter  loss  of  faith  ; 
men  who  feel  that  for  them  God  is  in  the 


II 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

traditional  form  do  well  to  cling  to  that  sacred 
thing.     No  form  of  revelation  is  perfect,  and 
It  IS  not  easy  to  acknowledge  that  the  shrine 
at  which  we  have  worshipped  may  be  broken 
and  cast  away  without  loss  to  the  world      In 
regard  to  all  thes-  controversies  we  all  do 
well  to  cultivate  a  kindly  spirit  towards  those 
who  are  at  different  stages  of  the  spiritual 
movement.     (3)  The  still  higher  way  is  that 
which  has  been  trodden  by  the  real  leaders  of 
the  church  and  humanity.     Th.se  "men  of 
light  and  leading"  have  found  that  the  new 
form  in  which  God  gave  the  truth  to  them 
was  a  larger,  more  glorious,  form  of  the  old 
faith  ;  after  the  pain  of  the  struggle  was  over 
they  saw  clearly  that  they  had  not  suffered 
loss  ;  they  refused  to  be  called  traitors  to 
the  old  religion  ;  the  way  that  men  called 
heresy      was   a   way   of  worship   and   of 
service  that  led  them  more  directly  to  the 
throne  of  God.     This  is  a  task  that  awaits  us 
in   every  "transitional   period";   we   must 
accept  all   new  facts  as  fresh  revelations  of 
Ood  s  power  and  wisdom,  and  try  to  show 
that  by  these  new  visions  the  principles  of 

98 


The  Kingdom  that  Survives 

the  older  faith  stand  out  in  larger  form  and 
clearer  light. 


3.  The  Kingdom  that  cannot  be  Moved. 

It  is  the  very  essence  of  faith  to  maintain 

that  there  is  a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved, 

that  there  are  spiritual  treasures  which  must 

survive  all  the  fierce  convulsions  that  shake 

the  world.     This  attitude  of  mind  is  common 

to  the  simple-minded  prophet  who  toiled  for 

the  restoration   of  the   temple,  and  to  the 

philosophic  theologian  who   explains   to   us 

why  we  can  dispense  with  all  temples.    Their 

faith,  at  the  heart  of  it,  is  essentially  the  same, 

only  the  form  is  different.     To  Haggai  the 

temple  is  central  and  immovable  ;  the  shakings 

of  the  world's  kingdom  can  only  have  the 

effect  of  enriching  God's  sanctuary.     Those 

of  us  who  believe  in  an  eternal  God  and  an 

abiding  kingdom  can  say  the  same  thing,  but 

for  us  it  means  something  different.    It  means 

that  the  God  of  the  temple  is  the  centre  of 

our  life,  and  hence  religion  is  no  longer  bound 

to  a  particular   temple.     It  means  that  the 

99 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

truth  cannot  be  destroyed,  and  what  seems 
to  be  loss  ,s  really  enlargement  and  enrich 

S"   nistory      an    increasing   purpose " 
wh.ch  tend,  .0  break  down  barrifrs'and'Tve 

of  the  idea  of  one  God.  To  the  ancient 
prophets  this  unity  was  to  be  brou/ht  abo: 
by  the  worlds  recognition  of  the  true  God 
■n  Israel.  The  temple  was  to  be  glorified  by 
becommg  a  religious  centre  not  simply  for 
I-aehte  patriots  and  pii.rims  but   inlZ 

GoT    ;  '57''°''  "°^''^-"    The  ideal  of  one 
God  and  of  human  brotherhood  remains,  but 

fL led   °"^''  -"""policed  by  one  city  or 
fastened  to  one  sanctuary.     It  is  the  work  of 
an  en,,ghe,„ed  Christianity  to  show  that  these 
.dea   do  not  evaporate,  that  these  truths  do 
not  lose  the.r  power  when  they  ,rf  cut  clear 
away  from  tribal  and  sectarian  forms.     Wc 
must  prove  that  these  large  statements  con- 
cernmg  the  purity  and  freedom  of  Christian 
.deas  are  not   philosophical  abstractions  but 
our  very  l.fe.     True,  to  live  at  this  higher 
*  See  Chapter  II. 
lOO 


The  Kingdom  that  Survives 

altitude  demands  a  stronger  faith,  but  for 
many  of  us  it  must  be  this  faith  or  none,  the 
old  narrow  tribal  views  can  no  longer  live  in 
harmony  with  the  only  conception  of  God 
that  is  possible — a  God  of  all  time  and  the 
whole  world. 

If  any  vindication  were   needed  for   the 
attempt  to  find  the  principle  in  an  ancient 
saying  and  give  it  a  wider  application,  we  can 
find  it  within  the  pages  of  the  Bible  itself. 
The  prophet  Haggai,  in  his  own  way,  believed 
that  no  shaking  can  destroy  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth,  that  the  God  of  Israel  rules 
the  world   and  makes   the   changes   in   the 
political  sphere  work  out  the  enrichment  of 
his  Church.    The  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  believes  the  same  thing  but  presents 
it  in  a  form  that  reflects  a  broader  philosophy 
of  religion.     When  we  discuss  the  question 
of  "gain  and  loss,"  and  when  the  old  truth 
has  been   so   transformed   that    we  cry  out 
"What  is  left  ?  "  we  need  to  fall  back  upon 
the  essential  Christian  belief  that  there  is  a 
Kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved,  and  that  the 
Lord  of  this  Kingdom  is  the  living  Christ. 

1 01 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

We  must  recognise  not  only  that  « the  kinfr- 
dom     can  no  longer  be  exclusively  identified 
with  Jerusalem  or  Rome  but  also  that  it  is 
arger  than  any  or  all  ecclesiastical  organisa- 
ZTu  ,     T  'f  P°'"^  °^^>-^  there  can  be  no 
real  Moss    ;  there  may  be  loss  to  individuals 
or  particular  communities  through  their  failure 
o  assimilate  new  truth  or  rise  to  larger  oppor- 
tunity, but  because  God  .'s  behind  it  the  larger 
movement  must  be  a  gain  to  humanity. 

We  are  now  beginning  to  see  that  the  Bible 
has  grown  larger  and  richer  under  the  severe 
searching  study  that  earnest  scholars   have 
devoted  to  it  during  many  generations.     It 
tells  more  clearly  than  ever  the  story  of  a 
growing  revelation  of  God  meant  for  human- 
ity  and  not  merely  for  one  race.    Even  when 
Its  life  circled  largely  round  one  small  city 
here  were  truths  struggling  for  expression 
that  cried   out  for   the  larger  city  of  God. 
Science  has  revealed  to  us  a  larger  world  in 
which  there  can  be  only  one  God  in  whom 
we  live  and  move  and  have  our  bein^." 
One  hving  movement  everywhere,  one  law 
ruling  through  all  spheres  ;  this  is  the  watch- 

1 02 


The  Kingdom  that  Survives 

word  of  the  higher  thought  of  our  time.     It 
puts  to  shame  all  mere  local  religions  and 
sectarian  monopolies.     It  cannot  be  content 
with  a  God  who  merely  created  some  past 
things,  it  calls  for  a  creed  that  shall  embrace  the 
whole  life  of  the  world.     The  social  problem 
presses  hard,  it  taxes  the  power  of  the  Church. 
It  some  imes  makes  us  feel  that  we  are  help- 
less in  the  face  of  forces  that  cannot  easily  be 
controlled  and  guided.     Is  this  failure  and 
death  or  is  it  the  growing  pain  of  a  new  and 
larger  life .?     No  one  city  can  contain,  no  one 
church  can  guide,  this  restless  movement  of 
humanity ;   by  no  small   formula  can   this 
complex    situation    be   met.     The    rally iiig 
point  to-day  is  not  in  a  particular  city  or 
visible  tem.ple  but  round  a  Person  ;  we  turn 
to  One  in  whom  great  movements  of  the  past 
have  centred  and  from  whom  new  impulse 
springs.     The  faith  that  He  quickens  in  us 
gives  us  courage  to  believe  that  there  really 
is  "a  kingdom  that  cannot  he  moved,"  an 
eternal  city  of  truth  and  righteousness  whose 
buildsr  and  maker  is  God.^ 

*  Heb.  xi.  lo. 
103 


VII. 


THE  CITY  WITHOUT  A  WALL. 

Zecharuh  II.   1-5. 

The  first  eight  chapters  of  the   book  that 
bears  the  name  of  Zechariah  forms  practically 
one  discourse.     The  remaining  six  chapters 
belong   to    a    later    period    and    are   quite 
different    in    their    literary    character    and 
spiritual   temper;    with   these   we  have   no 
presert  concern.      The  genuine  sermon  of 
Zechariah  was  delivered,  at  the  close  of  the 
sixth  century  b.c,  for  the  purpose  of  consoling 
the  Jewish  community  in  its  darkness  and 
distress,   and   strengthening   the  leaders   in 
the  efforts  towards   the   rebuilding  of   the 
temple.     These   different  chapters   may   be 
the  substance  of  different  discourses  given 
at  that  time,  but  they  are  now  one  sermon, 
the  aim   of  which    is    to   make   clear    that 
God    will    sustain    the    leaders    and    bless 

104 


The  City  Without  a  Wall 

the  nation.  The  prophet  may  well  have  had  in 
his  mind  the  words  of  his  great  forerunner — 

**  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  taith  your  God. 
Speak  ye  comfortably  to  Jeruialcm,  and  cry  unto  her, 
That  her  warfare   ii   accomplished,    her    iniquity  is 

pardoned ; 
That  the  hath  received  of  Jehovah'i  hand  double  for 
all  her  iins."  ^ 

He  tells  us  that  he  received  from  the  angel 
"good  and  comfortable  words"  (i.  13),  and 
that  his  own  commission  was  in  this  spirit, 
there  came  to  him  from  Jehovijh  the  command 
to  cry  out  the  gracious  promise  :  "  My  cities 
through  prosperity  shall  yet  be  spread  abroad  ; 
and  the  Lord  shall  yet  comfort  Zion  and 
shall  yet  choose  Jerusalem"  (i.  17).  He 
is  therefore,  by  the  needs  of  the  situation, 
and  by  the  divine  call,  a  son  of  consolation. 


I.  The  Popular  Presentation  of  Truth. 

The  prophet's  sermon  is  full  of  illustrations 
or  word-pictures  ;  he  speaks  in  parables. 
These  allegories  are  rich  in  suggestion  and 

1  Isa.  xl.  I,  2. 

105 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

were  likely  to  quicken  a  deeper  interest  in 
his  teaching.     But  these  features  of  the  dis- 
course  which  were  the  most  attractive  then 
ire  precisely  the  parts  which  now  reqrVe  the 
most  careful  study  and  the  fullest  e^^  .ana- 
tion.    This  man  whose  visions  have  become 
obscure,  through    the   lapse    of   tim.   and 
change  of  pi    e,  could  have  dispensed  with 
oratorical  adc     inents  and  rhetorical  devices, 
for  he  was  certainly  a  master  of  strong,  clear 
speech.     Note  his  beautiful  promise  of  peace 
in  viii.  4,  and  his  fine  ethical  charter  of  the 
city  in  verses  16  and  17  of  the  same  chapter. 
He  did  not  use  pictures   because  he  was 
unable  to  make  clear  statements  but  because 
these  illustrations  quickened  the  imagination 
of  his  hearers  and  gave  real  satisfaction  to  his 
own  soul.     In  thest  strange  visionary  forms 
promises  can   find  expression   that  are  too 
large    for    mere    formal    statement.       The 
visions    arrestel    attention     and    provoked 
thought  at   the   time.     Now   they   demand 
careful  study  so  that  we  may  enter  into  the 
mode  of  thought  of  a  generation  that  has 
long  passed  away.     The  scientific  study  of 

106 


The  City  Without  a  Wall 

the  Bible,  by  which  we  seek  to  place  ourselves 
in  living  relationship  with  the  gieat  prophet, 
15  an  attempt  to   wipe  the  dust   ofr   these 
ancient  pictures  so  that  the  essential  features 
may  be  more  clearly  seen.     This  is  not  a 
mere  intellectual  discipline,  it  is  an  exercise  of 
imagination  and  an  effort  of  faith.     Surely  it 
is  one  aspect  of  "  the  communion  of  saints  " 
when  we  seek  to  pass  over  the  barriers  of 
time  and  space,  language  and  nation,  in  order 
to  appreciate  and  appropriate  the  great  truth 
uttered  by  a  noble  preacher  of  a  distant  age. 
The  popular  preacher  of  twenty-five  centuries 
ago  demands   and  justifies   scientific   study 
to-day,  and  when  we  give  that  study  in  a 
reverent  and  sympathetic  spirit  we  express 
our   taith   in  some   essential  truths.     First, 
that  in  the  world  of  spirit  as  well  as  in  that 
of  nature  the  present  grows  out  of  the  past, 
so  that,  in  so  far  as  we  lay  hold  of  God's 
growing  revelation,  we  can  claim  real  kinship 
with  the  saints  and  martyrs  of  earlier  davs. 
Second,  these  great  men  who  wrestled  faith- 
fully with  the  problems  of  life  centuries  ago, 
did  really  prepare  the  way  for  us  ;  they  lifted 

107 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

their  little  life  into  the  light  of  God's  great 
kingdom  and,  in  so  doing,  laid  down,  in  a 
simple  form,  eternal  principles.  Third,  this 
being  so,  it  is  possible  for  us  without  any 
allegorising  or  straining  to  find  more  in 
their  visions  than  was  present  to  themselves, 
because  the  principle  that  they  have  discovered 
demands,  in  our  larger  world,  a  larger  applica- 
tion.  Hence  the  abiding  significance  of  this 
popular  sermon. 

It  is  surely  appropriate  that  the  hopes  of 
Jerusalem  should  be  expressed  by  the  figure 
of  a  young  man.     The  young  man  has  his 
own   outlook   towards  the  future  ;   it  is  no 
sufficient  gospel  for  him    to  be  told   about 
"  the  good  old  times."     Read  that  striking 
passage  Ezra  iii.  11-13,  which  tells  of  the 
strangely   mingled   sound   of   weeping   and 
rejoicing  when  those  come  together,  in  one 
festival,   whose    outlook   was   so   different; 
some  clung  with  tears  to  the  sacred  past,  and 
others  exulted  in  the  hope  of  a  new  future. 
The  prophet  has  preached  peace  and  pros- 
perity ;   the   people   are    inclined  to  believe 
him,  but  they  say.  Tell  us  more  definitely  the 

108 


The  City  Without  a  Wall 

meaning  of  this  thing  ;  how  big  is  Jerusalem 
going  to  be  ?  The  young  are  hopeful  as  to 
the  future,  their  destiny  is  hidden  in  it,  they 
long  for  clear-cut  statements  and  well-defined 
programmes.  It  is  fitting  then  that  the 
prophet  should  symbolise  the  faith  of 
Jerusalem  by  means  of  a  young  man,  alert 
and  eager,  who  goes  forth  to  do  some  land- 
surveying  and  measure  the  boundaries  of  the 
new  city.  The  figure  expresses  faith,  an 
acceptance  of  the  promise  as  to  the  future 
greatness  of  the  city.  But  the  faith,  quick 
and  energetic  as  it  is,  is  not  large  enough,  it 
is  not  going  to  be  possible  to  lay  out  a 
definite  plan  of  the  city  because  of  the 
abundance  of  life  in  it.  The  pressure  of 
living  forces  will  be  so  great  that  the  ancient 
barriers  will  be  ignored  ;  it  will  be  a  time  of 
peace,  so  that  the  walls  can  be  dispensed  with 
and  the  presence  of  Jehovah  will  be  a  wall  of 
fi'*e,  a  protection  and  an  inspiration  to  the 
loyal  people.  This  is  the  propnet's  reply  to 
the  demand  for  statistics.  Here  is  a  man 
who  speaks  with  confidence  in  "  the  day  of 
small  things  "  ;  he  looks  forward  with  uncon- 

109 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

querable  hope  to  a  larger,  richer  future  for 
the  city.  The  source  of  his  confidence  is 
c^ar^  stated  ;  it  is  that  Jehovah  will  quicken 
the  hfe  within  and  guard  against  all  de- 
structive forces  from  without.  It  is  because 
the  divine  life  is  the  centre  of  his  hope  that 
we  are  justified  in  giving  wider  rang,  and 
richer  meaning  to  his  teaching  than  at  first 
sight  seems  to  be  implied  in  his  words. 

2.  A  City  Without  a  Wall. 

Surely  there  is  a  great  boldness  of  faith  in 
the  form  in  which  he  has  chosen  to  express 
the  promise.     A   city   without  a  wall   was 
unknown  in  his  time,  and  it  is  only  in  recent 
times  that  by  the  creation  of  large  countries 
with  common  sentiments  and  interests  it  has 
become  a  literal  fact.     For  many  centuries 
the  very  idea  of  a  city  was  that  of  a  walled 
space,   the  centre  of  a  district,  where  men 
could  flee  for  refuge  when  the  enemy  scoured 
the  open  country.     Within  these  walls  were 
found  the  sanctuary  where  men  worshipped 
their   God    and   the   fortresses   where   ithey 

no  ^ 


The  City  Without  a  Wall 

resisted  the  last  attack  of  their  foes.  For  a 
man  to  believe  that  God  would  be  present 
with  his  people  in  such  a  living  sense  that  the 
common  material  defences  would  be  super- 
seded was  a  supreme  act  of  faith.  There  is 
splendid  audacity  in  the  thought,  but  we  are 
not  strong  enough  e^  n  now  to  accept  it  in 
all  its  fulness.  It  is  an  ideal  which  worldly 
common  se  ",e  regards  with  scorn  as  the  mere 
play  of  religious  fancy. 

It  is  possible  to  point  out  that  there  was 
little,  if  any,  literal  fulfilment  of  this  great 
promise.  The  Jews  continued  to  struggle 
with  wonderful  perseverance  against  the 
hard,  prosaic  difficulties  of  their  situation. 
When,  three  centuries  later,  an  effort  was 
made  to  destroy  their  sacred  books  and  crush 
their  religious  life,  the  men  of  living  faith 
and  stern  piety  rose  in  revolt  and  vindicated 
their  right  to  national  independence  and 
religious  freedom.  This  military  glory  and 
political  independence  thus  attained  lasted  for 
a  short  time  ;  it  was  followed  by  internal 
conflict  and  absorption  within  the  Roman 
Empire.     In  the  last  great  struggle  with  the 

III 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

Roman  legions  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem 
fought  with  fanatical  faith  and  frenzied  zeal, 
but  it  was  all  in  vain  ;  there  was  no  wall  of 
fire  to  protect  the  city  and  devour  the  enemy. 
The  Jew  ;'  en  became,  in  the  fullest  sense, 
"a  man  without  a  country  "  ;  since  then  he 
has  wandered  over  the  world  and  in  many 
lands,  has  been  the  object  of  enmity  or  con- 
tempt.    It  appears,  then,  that  the  vision  of 
the  city  without  a  wall  is    the   dream  of  a 
religious  enthusiast,  and  that   the   Jew  has 
received  as  his  portion  not  permanent  peace 
but   continual    torment— a  torment   largely 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  he  has  clung 
with  such  unswerving  loyalty  to  the  peculiar 
forms  of  his  own  faith  and  law.     Is  this, 
however,  a  full  account  of  this  great  matter  ? 
Is  there  not  a  permanent  truth  in  the  thought 
that  the  strength  and  security  of  a  community 
is  found  in  the  faith  that  unites  it  to  God 
and  not  in  the  wall   that  separates  it  from 
mankind  ?     There  were  times  when  the  Jews 
trusted  in  the  wall  rather  than  in  their  God. 
In    those   days   a  strong  wall   was   a   great 
defence  for  a  well-placed  city,  and  men  were 

112 


The  City  Without  a  Wall 

slow  in  learning  that  there  is  a  nobler  defence 
in  an  intelligent  service  of  God  and  a 
sympathetic  treatment  of  each  other.  In 
other  words,  it  is  very  slowly  that  men  have 
learned  this  great  truth,  grasped  what  we 
may  call  this  great  missionary  idea,  that  the 
presence  of  God,  in  so  far  as  it  is  truly  and 
intelligently  realised,  tends  to  unite  men  rather 
than  sep  .  ate  them;  the  divine  fire  which 
protects  the  righteous  breaks  down  the  hard 
material  barriers  which  have  served  their 
purpose  and  had  their  day. 

3.  The  Extension  of  the  Idea. 

Because  the  prophet  was  what  we  call  "  a 
spiritually  minded  man,"  because  the  chief 
thought  for  him  was  the  presence  of  God  and 
not  the  material  greatness  or  numerical  power 
of  the  city,  v-e  may  justly  credit  him  with  the 
idea  that  the  presence  of  God  is  a  power  that 
breaks  down  the  old  barriers  so  that  the  life 
of  "  the  city  of  God  "  may  stream  forth  upcn 
the  world.  Translated  into  these  terms  we 
can  see  that  the  later  history  of  Judaism  and 
H  113 


i 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

the  growth  of  Christianity  has  been  an  advance 
along  this  line  and  so  a  fulfilment  of  the 
prophecy. 

The  Jews  were  forced  out  into  the  great 
worid,  and  wherever  they  went  carried  their 
religion  with  them ;  and  notwithstanding 
their  hard  legalism  and  exclusive  temper  the 
nobility  and  attraction  of  that  religion  mani- 
fested itself.  The  patriotic  saintly  men 
scattered  through  foreign  lands  thought  with 
tenderness  of  Jerusalem  as  the  city  of  their 
God  and  the  home  of  their  religion,  but 
many  of  them  began  to  ealise  that  the  true 
Zion  is  not  the  soil  or  the  walls  of  an  earthly 
cvy  but  the  living  truth,  the  glorious  reve- 
lation from  God.  From  this  point  of  view 
the  prophecy  received  a  very  real  fulfilment, 
Jerusalem  did  indeed  break  its  barriers  ;  the 
life  inspired  by  prophets  and  regulated  by  law- 
givers overspread  the  world,  and  became  one 
of  the  most  important  factors  in  its  religious 
life.  Churches  and  sects  may  struggle,  as 
they  do  to-day,  for  the  soil  of  the  ancient 
city,  fighting  with  vulgar  fanaticism  for  « the 
sacred  places,"  but  the  city  of  God,  « Jeru- 

114 


The  City  Without  a  Wall 

salem  the  golden,"  is  otherwhere,  it  is  found 
wherever  men  are  fighting  for  true  liberty, 
personal  purity,  and  social  righteousness. 

Monopoly  has  been  tried  both  in  Judaism 
and  Christianity  ;  the  attempt  has  been  made 
to  prove  that  the  city  of  God  is  a  walled  city, 
a  national  or  ecclesiastical  enclosure.  The 
effort  to  make  all  pious  souls  conform  to  one 
type  of  worship  and  creed  has  been  a  ghastly 
failure.  It  is  one  feature  in  the  history  of 
the  Christian  Church  that  fills  us  with  shame 
and  that  justifies  the  unbeliever's  sharpest 
criticism.  Coercion  and  monopoly  are  the 
weapons  not  of  faith  but  of  unbelief.  The 
proud  Church  that  claims  to  have  the  exclusive 
right  to  "  the  keys  "  of  the  city  is  doing  her 
best  work  where  she  has  to  live  in  the  light 
and  face  honest  competition.  In  that  case, 
as  elsewhere,  exclusiveness  means  arrogance, 
and  monopoly  leads  to  rottenness.  If  any 
church  could  build  a  high  wall  and  keep  out 
all  kinds  of  "  modernism,"  all  problems  that 
come  from  the  conflict  of  new  ideas  and 
foreign  forces,  the  result  would  not  be  a  city 
but  a  cemetery,  a  beautiful  place  for   dead 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

bones  to  rest,  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the 
real  movement  of  healthy  life.     When  men 
think  that  they  have  made  a  city  of  God  of 
their  own,  with  properly  designed  walls,  so 
that  they  can  confine  and  control  the  great 
revelation,  dispensing  it  to  men  with  a  kindly, 
patronising   air,  then  they  stand  before  the 
world    as    the    supreme    representative    of 
Christianity.      This    is    all   very   grand    in 
appearance   and   when  represented  in  noble 
forms  of  architecture  and  oratory,  but  the  fact 
remains  that  it  is  only  the  small  things  that 
can  be  imprisoned  in  sectarian  bonds,  how- 
ever beautiful  these  may  be.     God  is  every- 
where, thought  is  free  ;  the  essential  condition 
of  liberty   is  the  revelation  of  this  Divine 
presence   that   gives  meaning  to  the  life  of 
humanity. 

Here  we  have  gained  a  principle  that  is 
true  everywhere  and  at  all  times,  though  the 
revelation  of  it  has  been  painfully  slow  and 
gradual.  Where  God  is,  there  and  there 
only  is  real  liberty.  Such  a  presence  of  God 
is  now  possible  anywhere,  being  dependent 
on  the  state  of  the  soul  not  the  situation  of 

ii6 


The  City  Without  a  Wall 

the  soil.  If  this  presence  is  really  working 
in  any  city  and  nation,  as  it  was  in  Jerusalem 
and  among  the  Jews,  a  missionary  idea  will 
grow  there  even  in  unconscious  forms,  that  is, 
there  will  be  a  conviction  that  there  is  some- 
thing that  the  world  needs  and  desires 
because  it  is  something  that  comes  from  the 
Supreme  God.  The  formal  missionary 
organisation  comes  later  ;  it  must  be  pre- 
ceded by  a  life  that  has  in  it  a  consciousness 
of  Divinity  and  so  carries  with  it  a  claim  to 
universality.  Within  the  walls  of  sect  and 
nation  the  seed  has  been  planted,  but  if  it  is 
really  the  tree  of  life  whose  "  leaves  are  for 
the  healing  of  the  nations,"  ^  it  will  burst  all 
narrow  enclosures  and  claim  kinship  with  the 
"untrammelled  creative  forces. 

In  the  personal  life,  too,  this  principle  has 
its  application.  We  marvel  sometimes  at 
the  freedom  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  at  His 
determination  to  recognise  no  law  or  etiquette 
which  would  cut  Him  off  from  humanity. 
He  does  not  engage  in  "  foreign  missionary 
work  "  in  the  formal  sense,  but  He  embodies 
*  Rev.  xxii.  2. 


if 


It ' 


I'  '■ 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

in  His  life  principles  which  lie  behind  all 
true  mission  work.  For  Him  God  is  Father, 
men  are  brothers,  and  the  city  of  God  is 
neither  in  "this  mountain"  nor  yet  in 
Jerusalem,*  but  where  there  is  a  spirit  seek- 
ing the  truth  ;  His  disciples  may  have  sought 
to  embody  these  ideas  more  fully  in  creeds 
and  churches,  but  in  Him  they  find  a  living 
expression.  Because  the  fire  of  the  Divine 
presence  was  fully  realised  in  Him,  He  was 
the  perfect  citizen  of  "the  city  without  a 
wall,"  and,  being  its  pv,.-fect  citizen,  He  was 
also  its  King. 

^  Johniv.  a  I. 


ii8 


VIII. 


THE  FINAL  FESTIVAL. 


Isaiah  XXV.  6-8. 


As  an  introduction  to  this  noble  porm,  we 
have  the  story  of  a  marginal  note  and  its 
destiny.  Wc  need  to  remember  that  our 
Old  Testament  comes  down  to  us  from  a 
time  when  books  in  our  sense  did  not  exist ; 
the  written  record  was  then  preserved  on 
bricks  or  skins,  "  the  roll  of  the  book  "  *  had 
to  be  painfully  made  and  copied  by  hand. 
It  was  much  more  difficult  then  than  now  to 
reproduce  the  copy  with  perfect  accuracy,  and 
it  was  not  until  a  late  date  that  this  became  a 
sacred  duty.  The  careful  scribe  loved  and 
respected  the  literature  to  which  so  much  toil 
had  been  given  and  desired  to  render  it 
accurately,  but  he  was  not,  at  first,  a  slave  to 
the  letter.  Words  rendered  dim  by  time  or 
» Ps.  xl.  7. 
119 


^  > 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

illegible  through  rough  usage  had  to  be 
restored,  and  explanatory  notes  made  in  the 
margin  were,  in  some  cases,  carried  into  the 
text.  Illustrations  or  demonstrations  of  this 
need  not  now  be  attempted,  but  the  "  gloss  " 
or  marginal  note  supposed  to  be  contained  in 
this  poem  is  worthy  of  a  little  attention. 
The  sentence  "  He  will  swallow  up  death  in 
victory  *'  or,  as  the  R.V.  has  it  more  correctly, 
**  He  hath  swallowed  up  death  for  ever  "is 
regarded  by  many  careful  scholars  as  just 
such  an  explanatory  note.  It  interrupts  the 
thought ;  it  separates  the  two  elements  of  a 
beautiful  figure  and  seems  to  be  awkward 
from  the  metrical  point  of  view.  If  this  is 
true,  see  what  an  interesting  light  it  throws 
upon  the  written  word.  A  devout  student  is 
poring  reverently  over  the  sacred  page  and 
meditating  upon  the  meaning  of  this  noble 
picture  of  future  blessedness.  He  perhaps 
has  suffered  a  heavy  loss,  and  thinks  that  in 
the  great  day  of  the  fuller  revelation  Jehovah 
will  destroy  the  power  of  death  which  causes 
such  sad  havoc  in  this  world.  This  God- 
given  thought  he  writes  in  the  margin  of  his 

1 20 


The  Final  Festival 

copy,  and  a  later  scribe  treats  it  as  part  of  the 
original  text  that  had  bccnaccidcntallyomittcd. 
When  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  comes  to 
write  his  vindication  of  the  Christian  hope, 
he  thinks  of  this  passage,  seizes  this 
particular  phrase,  and  gives  it  an  even  nobler 
setting  and  wider  scope,  when  he  cries, 
"Then  shall  come  to  pass  the  saying  that 
is  written.  Death  is  swallowed  up  in 
victory." »  Truly  no  great  word  is  lost, 
it  finds  its  place  and  does  its  work. 


I.  The  Universality  op  Sorrow. 

Here  is  a  promise  that  Jehovah  will 
destroy  "the  face  of  the  covering  that  is 
cast  over  all  peoples,  and  the  veil  that  is 
spread  over  all  nations."  The  reference  that 
is  given  in  the  margin  of  our  Bible  would 
lead  us  to  think  of  a  veil  of  ignorance  or 
prejudice  which  hinders  men  from  seeing  the 
beauty  and  discerning  the  real  meaning  of 
God's  revelation.2  But  this  does  not  seem 
to  be  the  right  line  ;  rather  we  have  a  beauti- 


*  1  Cor.  XT.  54. 


121 


2  Cor.  iii.  15. 


li! 


li 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

ful  figure,  a  personification  of  the  nations, 
under  the  form  of  a  sorrowful  woman. 
Jehovah,  as  father  or  husband,  draws  near  to 
invite  her  to  the  festival ;  he  lifts  the  veil 
and  lo,  there  are  tears.  How  can  one  come  to 
the  festival  with  weeping  eyes  or  tear-stained 
face  ?  As  a  preparation  for  the  joyful  feast 
God  must  wipe  away  all  tears  from  her  eyes.^ 
There  are  many  passages  that  speak  of  the 
rebuke  of  sinners  and  the  destruction  of  sin  ; 
here  we  have  one  that,  in  picturesque  poetic 
fashion,  tells  of  the  conquest  or  sorrow. 

This  statement  affirms  the  reality  of 
sorrow  and  the  power  and  purpose  of  God 
to  conquer  it.  The  poet,  no  doubt,  speaks 
out  of  his  own  life,  but  he  certainly  sets  his 
bright  picture  over  against  the  sombre  back- 
ground of  his  nation's  experience.  The 
history  of  Israel  is  very  largely  a  story  of 
sorrow  and  disappointment ;  it  had  its  calm 
hours,  its  days  of  simple  joy,  its  moments  of 
national  triumph,  but  there  were  periods  of 
terrible  calamity  and  heart-rending  dis- 
appointment.    The  power  to  write  enduring 

^  Rev.  xxi.  4. 

122 


The  Final   Festival 

psalms  of  penitence  and  minister  nyu.prthv 
to  a  sorrowful  world  was  purcl.isrd  at  a 
great  cost.  The  great  nations  of  -he  world 
that  have  rendered  the  highest  service  to 
humanity  have  themselves  wrestled  with  the 
problem  of  life  and  faced  the  mystery  of 
sorrow.  This  is  pre-eminently  true  of 
God's  servant,  Israel.  In  acquiring  the  great 
revelation  and  in  holding  it  fast,  this  nation 
has  suffered  from  division  within  and  perse- 
cution without.  The  sweetest  "songs  of 
Zion  "  owe  much  of  their  pure  quality  to 
the  discipline  of  sorrow. 

Sorrow  is  a  real  thing,  we  need  all  the 
power  of  God  to  cope  with  it  and  take  the 
sting  out  of  it.  In  our  day  there  are  those 
who  claim  to  have  "  new  thought,"  a  phil- 
osophy that  preaches  the  unreality  of  sorrow. 
The  phrase  is  not  stricdy  correct.  We  have 
a  knowledge  of  new  facts,  new  thoughts  are 
suggested  by  these,  and  our  great  systems  of 
science  and  philosophy  are  modified.  But 
we  have  no  new  type  of  thought.  The  ultra- 
spiritual  philosophy  that  resolves  all  pain 
and  evil  into  something  unreal  or  imaginary 

123 


If  ^ 


'  1 


M  ' 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

is  not   by  any   means   modern,    it   may  be 
found,  in  its  most  radical  forms,  in  ancient 
India.     The  Hebrew  religion,  however,  was 
sober,  it  had  a  firm  grip  of  mother  earth,  it 
did  not  fall  into  a  false  spiritualism  or  lose 
Itself  in  the  morass  of  a  spurious  mysticism. 
Even  if  it  did  not  attain  to  the  more  ethereal 
forms  of  refinement  it  has  still  its  part  to 
play.     It  teaches   us   to  face  sorrow  in  the 
name  of  God,     Suicide  is   a  confession  of 
defeat   and   a    counsel   of  despair;    earthly 
stimulants  cannot  minister  to  a  mind  diseased, 
they  only  aggravate  the  malady  ;  man's  ne-d 
is  the  need  of  God  to  wipe  the  tears  from 
his  eyes  and  give  a  sacrificial  power  to  pain. 

The  universality  of  sorrow  is  here  taken 
for  granted  ;  the  promise  comes  to  a  sorrow- 
ful world,  and  the  Jew  can  claim  no 
monopoly  of  sorrow.  Pain,  bereavement, 
disappointment,  these  are  indeed  touches  of 
nature  that  make  the  whole  world  kin.  It 
is  well  to  feel  our  community  of  life  in  this 
sad  region,  for  it  may  help  to  break  down 
useless  barriers  in  other  directions.  One 
may  say  justly  that  this  is  only  a  mood  ;  it 

124 


The  Final  Festival 


does  not  represent  the  whole  of  human  life. 
True,  but  it  is  a  mood  that  corresponds  to 
an  actual  phase   of  life,    it   is   not   morbid 
irritability    or    gloomy    exaggeration.      We 
would   not   ignore   the   advance   of   science 
or  undervalue  the   resources  of  civilisation, 
but  we  can  understand  men  who,  in  moments 
of  despondency,  declare  that  very  little  im- 
pression has  been  made  on  the  great  mass  of 
human  suffering  and   that  the  burden  and 
mystery  of  it  all  presses  with  crushing  weight 
on  their  souls.     Civilisation,   they  say,   has 
not  conquered  the  ills  of  humanity  but  only 
changed  many  of  them    into   i    -   ■    refined 
forms  of  torture.     That   is  a  g  .      subject 
not  to  be  explored  at  this  point,  as  we  are 
concerned  with  the  universality  of  the  sorrow 
which  serves  as  a  basis  for  the  great  promises. 
There   are   times  when  both  the  indiv'dual 
and  the  nation  can  say — 

"  Behold,  and  see  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my 
sorrow,  which  is  done  unto  me."i 

A  great  sorrow  always  brings  with  it  a  sense 

^  Lam.  i.  12. 
125 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

of  isolation,  it  separates  us  from  men,  and  it 
has  often  been  taken  to  mean  « the  curse  of 
God."     It   is   then   a  part  of  the   growing 
missionary  idea  to  recognise  that  the  sorrow 
which  calls  for  divine  help  and  sympathy  is 
not  a  sectarian  thing  ;  here  at  least  there  is 
proof  of  the  oneness  of  humanity.     Differ- 
ences of  race,  language,  and  creed  cannot  hide 
the  real    sameness  of  human  life  ;  physical 
pain,  mental  torture,  and  spiritual  anguish  are 
substantially  the  same  in  all  lands  and  among 
all  classes.     In  whatever  way  we  may  state 
this,   it    is    at    the    basis   of  our   common 
sympathy    and    our    efforts     after    mutual 
helpfulness. 


2.  The  Universality  of  the  Promise. 

The  Lord  of  hosts  is  to  prepare  this  feast 
for  ««//  peoples"  and  the  tears  are  to  be 
wiped  "from  off  all  faces."  Unlike  some 
other  pictures  of  the  future  victory,  the 
consolation  is  not  confined  to  the  Jews,  it  is 
a  festival  for  all  those  stricken  by  sorrow. 
The  form  in  which  the  promise  comes  may 

126  ^ 


The  Final  Festival 

seem  to  many  of  us    to  be  primitive   and 
child-hke,  .t  ,s  to  be  a  feast  of  fat,  sweet, 
st.mulatmg   things.     Those  who   are  accus- 
tomed   to   generous    living   every    day    can 
scarcely  feel  the  power  of  this  appeal  in  its 
literal  sense.     It  is  those  who  know  hunger 
who  can  appreciate  most  keenly  the  promise 
of  the  feast.     Those   ancient  peoples,  as  a 
rule  d,d  hve  the  simple  life  ;  their  life  was 
f ''^  and  their  fare  plain  ;  it  was  rarely  that 
luscious   meat   and   sparkling  wine   formed 
part    of    the    meal.      Such    luxuries    were 
reserved  for  great   festive  days   when  men 
rejoiced    before    God  and   with   each   other 
Addressed  to  such  a  people  the  figure  was 
natural,  and  we  can  understand  why  it  has 
played  a  powerful  part  in  the  poetic  descrip- 
tions of  future  blessedness.     The  future  was 
to  them  the  present  purified  and  glorified 
not  some  shadowy,  ethereal  reflection  of  it  ^  ' 
Literal    hunger    still    appears   amon^   the 
pains  of  life,  so  that  there  are  many  to  whom 
these  figures  appeal  mightily  ;  and  even  in 
respectable  well-fed  congregations  there  are 
'  l3a.  Iv.  2  ;  John  iv.  lo  ;  Rev.  xxi.  6  ;  xxii.  i-j;  etc. 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

hungry  hearts,  there  are  men  and  women 
who  know  that  it  is  possible  to  have  plenty 
and  yet  be  sore  at  heart  and  empty  in  soul. 
These  hearts  desire  to  take  hold  of  some 
great  promise  that  shall  lift  them  out  of 
weariness  and  quicken  in  them  a  new  spirit 
of  hope.  Men  who  have  needs  that  money 
cannot  satisfy  and  who  have  lost  the  power 
to  enjoy  the  simple  things  of  life,  to  these 
also  the  promise  comes  that  life  may  be 
made  new,  the  zest  and  joy  of  it  restored. 

The  glory  of  the  Old  Testament  religion 
is  in  this  clear  strong  faith  for  the  future. 
In  later  times   something  of  hardness  and 
stagnation  came  to  it,  but  with  the  prophets 
and  poets  of  our  sacred  books  it  was  vital, 
flexible,  refusing  to  be  crushed  by  disappoint- 
ments.     Through    the    blinding   tears   the 
glory  of  the  future  is  dimly  seen,  but  there 
is  faith  that  God  will  wipe  away  the  tears 
and  the   vision   dawn  in  all   its   splendour. 
The  Old  Testament  and  the  religion  that  it 
expressed  was  the  result  of  a  growth  stimu- 
lated by  the  Divine  Spirit  and  revealed  in 
the  lives  of  noble  men.     The  hard  crust  of 

128 


The  Final  Festival 

custom  was  often  broken  and  fresh  sources 
of  blessing  allowed  to  rush  up  from  God's 
living  springs.  The  prophetic  movement 
was  always  moving  forward,  never  content 
with  the  past  If  there  was,  in  the  popular 
religion,  any  remains  of  that  ancestor  worship 
which  tended  to  lay  the  dead  hand  of  the 
past  too  heavily  upon  the  living  generations, 
the  prophets  conquered  this  by  their  insistent 
preaching  of  a  living,  present  God  who  makes 
new  demands  of  faith  and  duty  upon  His 
people.  Reverence  for  parents  and  elders 
is  still  enjoined  and  continues  to  be  a  noble 
element  in  all  true  religion,  but  the  spontane- 
ous life  of  the  prophets  would  not  brook 
bondage  from  the  dead  past,  though  they 
enlarged  its  living  tradition. 

Thus  the  religion  has  ever  a  forward  look, 
straining  its  eager  gaze  towards  a  richer 
future  and  always  expecting  some  nobler 
thing  from  God.  Both  in  its  perfection  and 
its  imperfection  such  a  religion  is  prophetic  ; 
the  beauty  of  the  bud  is  a  promise  of  the 
richer  fulness  and  fragrance  of  the  flower. 
We  admire,  with  reverence,  the  many  forms 
1  129 


) 
U  i 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

we  find  them  hero.c  and  sublime,  i„  their 
own    way,   approaching   perfection,    but   we 

a  form  Th?"'"  ""  °'"="  "'^^  "^  ?«  - 
Ltn      /    \  "■""  ^^Sard   as  local  and 
'■m,  ed  a  form  that  in  the  light  of  the  later 
revelafon    .s    imperfect.       But    we    mus 
reiterate  the  statement  that  there  is  a  pro- 
phetic  element  on   both  sides.     This  rests 
upon  our  belief  that  God  is  behind  the  whole 
movement ;  He  is  present  in  strength  ;  and 
he  .mperfecfon  is  a  cry  to  Him  for  more 
light,  an  appeal  to  remove  the  limitation  and 
give  to  His  truth  the  freedom  of  the  world. 

3-  The  Limitation  or  a  Great  Idea. 

In  this  poem  we  have  the  bright  hope  for 
the  future  assuming  a  missionary  form,  com- 
prehending  i,  a  sympathetic  spirit  all  the 
sorrowful  nations  of  the  world,  but  there  is 
a  condition  attached  which  shows  that,  as  we 

Zfu  u^^!"'  "■'  ""'""'J  'P'"'  i»  not  yet 
left  behind      Although    the   thought  is  not 

elaborated  here  it  is  clearly  present  that  the 

'30 


The  Final  Festival 

Jew  is  tj  maintain   his  superiority,  to  this 
extent  at  least,  that  his  city  is  to  become  the 
city  of  God.     "  In  this  mountain  shall  Jehovah 
of  hosts  .-nake  unto  all  peoples  a  feast  of  fat 
things."     It  is  a  great  claim,  r  n.ar,nificent 
aspiration,  that  the  universal  need  shall   be 
met  in  this  one  city,  that  Jerusalem  shall  be 
not  only  the  honoured  sanctuary  of  Judaism 
but  also  the  centre  of  light  and  healing  for 
the  world.^     We  are  prepared   to    interpret 
this  in  a  sympathetic  spirit,  to  pay  the  just 
tribute  to  the  wonderful  history  of  this  city 
and  acknowledge  the  great  things  thar  have 
come  out  of  it,  but  we  have  to  declare  that  in 
this    precise    form   the  prophecy  cannot    be 
fulfilled,  that  no  one  city  can  monopolise  the 
Divine    ministries.     There    is  great  import- 
ance to  be  attached  to  the  attractive  power  of 
religion  which  draws  willing  pilgrims  to  its 
source  and  centre,  but  this  power  must  go 
forth  into  the  wide  world  and  take  to  itself 
varied  and  changing  forms.^ 

The  contrast  between  the  actual  and  the 
ideal  Jerusalem  is  striking,  in  fact  we  may 
»  See  also  pp.  30,  65,  76.      2  Isa.  ii.  1-4  ;  and  xJii.  1-4. 


ii 


1 1 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

say,  without  straining  the  expression,  that  it  is 
tragic.     Jerusalem  did  remain  for  some  time 
after  this  poem  was  written   the  centre  of 
Jewish  religion,  the  place  towards  which  the 
scattered  patriots  could  look   with  reverent 
aspiration  and  cry,  « I  was  glad  when  they 
said  unto  me  let  us  go  into  the  house  of 
Jehovah."     Even  then,  while  the  temple  was 
standing,  pilgrims  of  other  lands  and  races 
came  to  pay  their  tribute  of  praise  to  the  God 
of  Israel.     But  it  has  been  for  long  a  desola- 
tion, for  the  Jew  a  symbol  of  shame  and 
national  failure.     It  is  now  p  sacred  city  to 
the  people  of  three  religioi.s    rat  its  life  is 
marred  by  the  vulgar  quarrels  of  contendinp 
sects.      When    fanatics    fight   and   blood  is 
shed   on   account   of  its   "holy   places,"   it 
seems  that  within  its  gates  the  principles  of 
spiritual  religion  are  ignored  and  the  Christ 
crucified  afresh.     How  sordid  and  sensational 
all  this  appears  to  be  when  it  is  lifted  into 
the  light  of  pure  prophetic  teaching  I    In  the 
Christian  vocabulary,  Jerusalem  means  some- 
thing quite   different;    the  name  has  been 
raised  mto  another  atmosphere  and  speaks  of 

132 


I 


The  Final  Festival 

the  ideal  city  of  God, «  Jerusalem  the  golden," 
the  home  of  all  the  saints  ;  or  it  prophesies  of 
heaven,  the  celestial  city  of  thedeathless future. 
But  whatever  form  our  faith  in  the  future 
may  take,  we  see  clearly  that  no  city  on  earth 
can,  in   the  spiritual  sense,  rule  the  world. 
Jerusalem,  Rome,  Geneva,  Canterbury,  these 
and  other  famous  shrines,  centres  of  ancient 
religion  or  reforming  zeal,  have  their  historic 
interest,  but  the  truth  is  larger  than  any  or  all 
of  them.     Never  again  on  an  immense  scale 
can  the  attempt  at  uniformity  and  centralisa- 
tion   be    made   with   any   prospect   of   real 
success.     Monopoly  mu'^t  confine   itself  to 
places  that  are  off  the  main   track   of  the 
world's  life.     "  This  mountain  "  may  appeal 
to  our  reverenc  ^— ause  of  its  past,  but  never 
again  can   it  uon.wiate  the  life  of  mankind. 
We  are  not  called  to  lose  all  local  colour  and 
attractive  traditions  in  dim,  theological  abstrac- 
tions, but  we  must  have  a  religion  that  can 
create  new  homes  for  itself  and  that  can  bring 
the  promise  of  the  Father's  presence  in  all 
times  and  places. 

Even  a  crude  faith  is  better  than  hopeless 

^33 


li 


M 

r    ! 
'■    ' 
If" 


The  Song  and  the  Soil 

scepticism.     The  essential   thing  is  th^t  re- 
ligion must  not  lose  its  true  catholicity  j  it 
must  claim  to  meet  and  conquer  the  common 
sorrow.     It  must  maintain  its  forward  look, 
its  faith  in  the  possibility  of  new  and  glorious 
revelation.     The  old  faith  may  be  translated 
into  permanent  forms.     There  is  the  hope  of 
national  success ;  this  may  be  taken  to  mean 
not  mere  material  prosperity,  but  success  in 
solving  the  problem  of  social  life  in  such  a 
way  as  to  give  a  chance  at  life's  feast  to  those 
who  are  poor  and  weak.     The  nation  that 
cares  for  its  own  in  the  noblest  sense,  realis- 
ing the   spirit  of  brotherhood,  will,  by  the 
very   fact,    be   a  missionary  nation.*     Then 
there  is  the  hope  of  personal  immortality  ; 
this  has  come  to  us  in  the  teaching  of  the 
greatest  saints  and  in  the  life  of  our  Lord  ; 
we  cannot  surrender  it  without  severe  loss. 
But  with  this  there  must  be  the  conviction 
that  the  banquet  is  spread  for  us  here  and 
now,    that    the    realisation    of   communion 
with  God  in   the  present  is  our  source  of 
satisfaction  and  our  basis  of  hope.^     Heaven 

'^^•P-35-  «  Ps.  Ixxiii.  25. 

134 


The  Final   Festival 

is  not  a  mechanical  compensation  for  pain 
and  loss  here,  it  is  the  "eternal  life  "  revealed 
through  communion  with  God  and  rising 
into  its  own  sphere  to  fulfil  its  own  destiny. 

«« Things  which   eye  «aw  not,  and   car   heard  not,  and 
which  entered  not  into  the  heart  of  man, 
Whatsoever  things  God  prepared 
For  them  that  love  him."  * 

»  Ita.  Ixiv.  4)  I  Cor.  ii.  ii. 


M^ 


APPENDIX. 

SOME  ADDITIONAL  READING. 

In   these  expositions  an  attempt  has  been 
made  to  show  that  while  Judaism  did  not 
become,   m   a   formal    sense,   a   missionary 
religion,  yet  in  the  Old  Testament  literature 
as  It  now  lies  before  us,  we  can  discern  a 
movement  towards  universalism  which  after- 
wards found  fuller  expression  in  ChrisManity 
In  discourses  of  this  nature  there  mu^.  neces- 
sanly  be  more  repetition  and  less  methodical 
treatment  than  in  an  essay  or  scientific  mono- 
graph.    But  it  is  hoped  that  even  in  this 
popular  presentation  certain  essential  features 
of  this  great  hope  have  been  made  prominent, 
and,  without  undue  strain,  appropriate  lessons 
which  may  be  applied  to  our  own  religious 
and  social  life.     It  is  difficult  to  give  a  bibli- 
ography  of  such  a  subject,  as  it  is  mosdy  treated 
m  an  incidental  manner  in  books  on  history 
and  theology  or  in  commentaries  dealing  with 
the  particular  passages. 
In  1896  there  was  published  a  lecture  by 

137 


\  ! 


fi 


Appendix 

Max  Lohr  {Der  Missionsgedanke  im  Alien 
Testament)  which  sought  to  give  a  brief 
scientific  statement  of  the  subject.  Professor 
Lohr's  position  may  be  seen  from  the  quota- 
tion already  given  at  p.  viii.  He  quotes 
Noldeke  to  the  effect  that  cosmopolitanism, 
something  like  our  missionary  thought,  which 
is  inseparable  from  Christianity,  could  only 
gain  strength  when  Semitic  and  Hellenic 
thought  had  begun  to  mingle.  He  finds  in 
such  passages  as  Jer.  xii.  i4f. ;  xvi.  19,  the 
first  sure  appearance  of  the  missionary 
idea.  The  texts  expounded  in  the  course 
of  his  study  are  drawn  very  largely  from 
Isaiah  and  the  Psalter. 

It  was  not  possible  within  the  compass  of 
this  volume  to  discuss  such  related  subjects 
as  the  temper  of  the  Book  of  Esther,  and  the 
eschatology  of  Ezekiel  and  later  prophets. 
The  whole  question  of  the  relation  of  Hebrews 
to  foreigners  is  dealt  with,  in  an  able  manner, 
by  Prof.  A.  Bertholet  (Die  Stellung  der  Israel- 
iten  und  der  Juden  zu  den  Fremden^  1896). 

Besides  the  regular  histories  and  commen- 
taries, the  following  easily-accessible  books 
may  also  be  consulted  : — 

Israel  among  the  Nations^  by  P.  Leroy 
Beaulieu. 

138 


Appendix 

Politics  and  Religion  in  Ancient  IsraeL 

by  J.  C.  Todd. 
The   Exile  and  the   Restoration,  by  Dr. 

A.  B.  Davidson. 
ylfter  the  Exile,  by  P.  Hay  Hunter. 
ne  Book  of  Isaiah,  by  C.  H.  Box. 
The  Messages  of  the   Psalmists,  by  Dr. 

J.  E.  McFadyen.  ^ 

Prophetic  Ideas  and  Ideals,  by  Dr.  W.  G. 

Jordan. 
The   Bible   as    a   Missionary   Book,   bv 

Dr.  R.  F.  Horton.  ^ 

On  the  history  of  Jerusalem  and  its  place 
in  the  hfe  of  the  nation,  Dr.  Geo.  A.  Smith's 
two  volumes  are  of  first-class  interest  and 
importance.  The  quotation  on  p.  6i  is 
from  a  booklet  on  The  History  of  Jerusalem, 
by  Dr.  J.  E.  Lee  of  St.  Louis,  U.S.A. 


'39 


! 


INDEX. 

A.    SCRIPTURE  PASSAGES. 


Gen,  ii.  3     , 

„    xii.  3  . 

Ex.  XX.  10,  II 

Deut.  V.  14,  ,5 

»f     viii.     . 

i»     viii.  3 . 

T  V    ?.'•  '9  . 
Judg.  lu.  10. 

n      xi.  24  . 

..     xiv.  6  . 

1  Sam.  X.  10 

••     xix.  20 
i>     xxvi.  19 

2  Sam.  vii.  8-16 

1  Kings  xix.  12 

2  Kings  ii.  9 
Ezra  iii.  ii-i^ 
Esther .         / 
Job  iv.  8 

.,  V.  13       . 
Psalter . 
Ps.  xxxix.  9, 

..  X'.  7 

»  xlii.  2  . 
„  xlvjii.  2  . 

..  ''•  '7      . 
Isa.  i.  17 

>•  ii.  2-4  . 
»  iv.  2-6  . 
»  V.  1-7    . 

•  I    VI. 

•>  vii.  9      . 

»  xi.  2 

ti  xxiv-xxvii. 


89, 


i> 
II 


M-r 


Isa.  XXV.  6-8 
II  xl.  I  f.    . 
II  xl.  8      . 
II  xl.  26     . 
II  xlii.  i_4 
•I  xJii.  4    . 
II  xlii.  6    . 
tt  xiiii.  10. 
xlv.  22  . 
xlvii.  13 
xlix.  I    . 
.  xlix.  1-6 
II  xlix.  4    . 
II  xlix.  i4flr 
II  xlix.  23 . 

I:.  4-9     . 
Jii.  1  ff.  . 

'ii-  13 ;  liii. 
..  l"i.  5     . 
II  liv.  1-7 . 
II  Iv.  2 
»»  'v.  3,  4  . 
II  Ivi.  7      . 
II  Iviii.  6   , 
II  Ix.  I  f.    . 
I.  Ix.  2 
II  Ix.  17  f. . 
i>  Ixi.  5     . 
II  Ixiv.  4   . 
»  Ixvi.  II,  12 
jer.  xii.  14  f. 
II    xvi.  19  , 
M    xxvi.  18 
Luni.  i.  12 


II 
•I 
II 
II 


12 


'AGS 

•  119 

•  105 

10 

55.82 
40,  iji 

•  47 

•  39 

•  39 

•  55 
.      82 

•  44 
40 

•  53 

72 

•  78 

•  40 

•  72 

•  40 

.      44 

.  72 
127 
90 
94 
67 
72 
88 
74 

-x 

»35 

72 
^37 
1j7 

10 
12; 


Index 


Ewldel 

Hos.  ii.  15-16 
M    vi.  6     . 

Amos  V.  II,  24 

Jonah  . 
„    iii.  9,  10 
i>     iv.  If  . 

Micah  iii.  12 
i>     iv.  1-4 
•.    vi.  8  . 

Zech.  i.  14    . 

»    i.  17    • 

11     ii.  1-5 

,.     viii.  4,  17 
Matt.  xii.  18-20 

„     xxi.  13  . 

,,     xxviii.  19 
Luke  xiii.  29 
John  iv.  10  . 


MOB 

36 
26 
44 
45 
46 

19 
18 

77 
105 
los 
104 
106 

SI 

94 

41 

87 
127 


'  John  iv.  31  . 

M    vi.  67  . 

Acts  viii.  27 . 

t>     xvii.  24 

I  Cor.  iii.  19 

}i  ^y.'  54 
3  Cor.  in.  15 

Gal.  iv.  26    . 

>t  vi.  7,  8. 
Heb.  X.  7     , 

•  •     xi.  10  . 

»  xii.  27. 
Rev.  xix.  12 

»    xxi.  4  . 

I,    xxi.  6  . 

„    xxi.  24,  25 

„    zxii.  2  . 

„    xxii.  17 


Mcm 
57,  "8 
S3 
93 
7r 

4 
121 
121 

64 
4 

89 
103 

89 

17 
122 
127 

87 
117 
127 


B.    TOPICS. 


i 


Affliction  .10,39,98,114 
Blessedness,  future  120,  130 
Citizenship  ...  26 
Commonplace,  redeem- 
ing the  ...  3 
Ecclesiasticism      .  79,  93 

Election  .  .  27'  39 
Exposition,  its  principles  '107 
Fa'lh    .         .  91, 96,  no 

foreigners  ...  59 
Oentleness  ...  49 
Hunger  .  .  .  ,27 
Jerusalem  63,  74.  132 

"Law  of  Like"  .  .  7 
Liberty         .         .         .     ,,5 

Literature  and  Life       ,      21 


106 


Missionary  Idea 

^  ,    23,  33,  43,  89,  lOI 

Monopoly     . 
Parabolic  teaching 
Parents,  honouring  of 
Politics 
Prayer  book . 
Sabbath,  the 
Sacred  places 
Sacrifice,  the  true. 
Servant,  the  Suffering 
Songs  of  Zion 
Sorrow 

Spirit,  the  divine 
Youth  , 


129 

16 

69 

66 

57,85 


IS. 


12 

44 

II 

121 

47 
108 


THE 

SHORT  COURSE  SERIES 

EDITED  BY 
Rev.  JOHN  ADAMS,  B.D. 

tte  .umform  pncc  of  60  cats  net  per  volume  wfll 
l^a  suffidently  Urg.  variety  for  indiWdl^ 


*  ^l  ?P^^'"P=  A  SWy  in  Amc 

•By  Prof.  T.  v.   HT/^i?  A .......   T^  ^    .-   _*"•"«»• 


By  Prof    T  T  lur  r^*         ''""^  ™  ^^"W*- 

THE  BEATITUDES. 

By  Rev.  RoBEST  H.  Fishes,  D.D..  EdlnbuiKh. 
THE  LENTEN  PSALMS. 

By  the  Editor. 

THE  PSALM  OF  PSALMS. 

By  Prof.  James  Stalkeb,  D.D.,  Aberdeen. 

THE  SONG  AND  THE  SOtt 

By  Prof.  W.  G.  Joiu,an,  D.D..  Kingston.  Ontari.. 

THE  HIGHER  POWERS  OF  THE  SOUL 

By  Rev.  George  M'Hamy.  D.D.,  Kirkcaldy. 


The  Foli€>tving  Other  Volumes  are  in 
Preparation, 

THE  STORY  OF  JOSEPH. 

By  Rev.  AoAU  C.  Welch,  B.D.,  Th.D.,  Glasgow. 

SCENES  FROM  THE  LIFE  OF  DAVID. 

By  Prof.  H.  R.  Mackintosh,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 

A  MIRROR  OF  THE  SOUL :  Studies  in  the  PMlter. 

By  Rev.  Canon  Vauohan,  M.A.,   Vinchester. 

STUDIES  IN  THE  BOOK  OF  JOB. 

By  Rev.  Chaues  F.  Aked,  D.D.,  San  Frandsco. 

THE  PROPllEGY  OF  MIGAE 

By  Principal  A.  J.  Tait,  M.A.,  Ridley  Hall,  Cambridge. 

THE  EmSITORY  VALUE  OF  THE  REVISED 
VERSION. 

By  Prof.  G.  Milugan,  D.D.,  University  of  Glasgow. 

JEHOVAH.JESUS. 

By  Rev.  Thouas  Whitelaw,  D.D.,  Kilmarnock. 

A  PREFACE  TO  THE  GOSPEL:  An  Exposition  of 
Isaiah  55. 

By  Rev.  A  Smellie,  D.D.,  Carluke. 

THE  SON  OF  MAN. 

By  Prof.  Andhew  C.  Zends,  D.D.,  Chicago. 

READINGS  IN  THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  LUKE. 

By  Prof.  W.  Emery  Barnes,  D.D.,  Cambridge. 

THE  PARABLE  OF  THE  PRODIGAL  SON. 

By  Principal  A.  E.  Garvie,  D.D.,  New  CoUegc,  London. 


BELIEF  AND  LIFE:  Expositions  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel 

By  Principal  W.  B.  Selbie,  D.D.,  Mansfield  CoUege. 
Oxford.  ^  ' 

THE  EMOTIONS  OF  JESUS. 

By  Prof.  Robert  Law,  D.D.,  Toronto. 

THE  OVERTURES  OF  JESUS. 

By  Rev.  Newell  Dwicht  Hilus,  D.D.,  Brooklyn. 

IN  THE  UPPER  ROOM. 

By  Rev.  D.  J.  Burrill,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  New  York. 

THE  "I  AM'S"  OF  OUR  LORD. 

By  Rev.  Thomas  Marjoribanks,  B.D.,  Edinburgh. 

THE  SEVEN  WORDS  FROM  THE  CROSS. 

By  Rev.  A.  B.  Macaulay,  M.A.,  Stirling. 

THE  PRAYERS  OF  ST.  PAUL 

By  Prof.  W.  G.  Griffith  Thomas,  D.D.,  Toronto. 

THE  METAPHORS  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

By  Rev.  A.  Boyd  Scott,  B.D.,  Glasgow. 

THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 

By  Rev.  F.  Stuart-Gardiner,   B.D.,   Kingstown, 
Ireland. 

THE  REDEMPTION  OF  GOD. 

By  Prof.  T.  B.  Kilpatrick,  D.D.,  Toronto. 

STUDIES  IN  THE  APOCALYPSE. 

By  Prof.  W.  T.  Davison,  D.D.,  Richmond. 

EXPOSITORY  STUDIES. 

By  Prof.  Arthur  S.  Peake,  D.D.,  Manchester. 

SOCIAL  STUDIES. 

By  Rev.  Canon  Simpson,  M.A.,  D.D.,  St.  Paul's, 
London. 


^^ 


OPINIONS  OF  WEIGH-^. 

"I  tlumk  you  very  heartily  for  a  copy  of  your 

Lenten  Psalms.'    Your  'Short  Coun^e  Seri«'  fol 

w^»  volume  an  interesting  example  of  the  kind  7i 

book  you  are  pror  osmg  to  produce.    It  is  briehtlv 

^T:  "^1]?  V"  "^  stimulating  illustraUon     I 

m  ti^r'^l^^f''^  ^*  P'^  °^^y  »"^ »  mod- 
ern want.    The  Bible  as  a  backbone  for  preaching 

appeals  to  people  better  than  general  senuS^of 
edifymg  exhortation  of  a  vague  type." 

Bishop  Ryle,  D.D.,  Dean  of  Westminster. 

"The  book  is  attractive  in  a  high  degree,  and  noth- 

fag  could  be  better  calculated  to  ttinZte^^ 

preadung  m  the  Churches.    One  may  cSnUy 

anuapate  for  the  Series  a  genuine  succws." 

H.  R.  Mackintosh,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 
"May  I  express  my  own  judgment  that  you  are 

r±flf  T'y  ^"^'^"^  ""*'  ^^  "^^  it  wiU  be  most 
acceptable  to  a  great  many  readers." 

J.  H.  JowETT,  D.D.,  New  York. 

"I  am  wholly  with  you  in  this.    And  I  wish  you 

great  success  m  what  you  are  proposing  to  do.  Your 
plan  will  help  us  aU  to  give  a  scriVtuS  bre^th^^ 
fulness  to  our  pulpit  work.  For  this  and  other  rea- 
sons  I  haU  your  proposal,  and  shaU  do  aU  that  I  c  m 
to  further  your  good  work." 

Principal  Alexander  Whyte,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 

"Youhavegotholdofafineidea,andyourSeries. 
I  am  sure,  will  fulfil  a  most  necessai^^  minist^ 
There  is  vast  need  of  just  such  expository  preaching 
as  you  wish  to  encourage."  ««-"«ik 

Alexander  Smelue,  D.^.,  Carluke. 


